Hi and welcome to another monthly wrap-up here at Stardust and Words. I feel like January lasted 87,000 years and I am so glad that it's over, even if it means we're one month closer to the hot weather (which I hate). I do often love the month of February, so I am looking forward to seeing what this month brings. I ended up reading 14 books in January, which isn't too shabby if you ask me. I posted five reviews as well! I hope you guys had a good January :)
1. Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions and Heretics – Jason Porath ☆☆☆☆
Blending the iconoclastic feminism of The Notorious RBG and the confident irreverence of Go the F**ck to Sleep,
a brazen and empowering illustrated collection that celebrates
inspirational badass women throughout history, based on the popular
Tumblr blog.
Well-behaved women seldom make history. Good thing these women are far from well behaved . . .
Illustrated in a contemporary animation style, Rejected Princesses
turns the ubiquitous "pretty pink princess" stereotype portrayed in
movies, and on endless toys, books, and tutus on its head, paying homage
instead to an awesome collection of strong, fierce, and yes, sometimes
weird, women: warrior queens, soldiers, villains, spies,
revolutionaries, and more who refused to behave and meekly accept their
place.
An entertaining mix of biography, imagery, and humor
written in a fresh, young, and riotous voice, this thoroughly researched
exploration salutes these awesome women drawn from both historical and
fantastical realms, including real life, literature, mythology, and
folklore. Each profile features an eye-catching image of both heroic and
villainous women in command from across history and around the world,
from a princess-cum-pirate in fifth century Denmark, to a rebel preacher
in 1630s Boston, to a bloodthirsty Hungarian countess, and a former
prostitute who commanded a fleet of more than 70,000 men on China’s seas
2. Captive Prince (Captive Prince #1) – C.S. Pacat ☆☆☆☆*
Damen is a warrior hero
to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos. But when
his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his
identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure
slave.
Beautiful, manipulative, and deadly, his new master,
Prince Laurent, epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the
lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and
when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must
work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.
For
Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity.
Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to
hate him than anyone else…
3. Prince's Gambit (Captive Prince #2) – C.S. Pacat ☆☆☆☆☆*
With their countries on
the brink of war, Damen and his new master, Prince Laurent, must
exchange the intrigues of the palace for the sweeping might of the
battlefield as they travel to the border to avert a lethal plot.
Forced
to hide his identity, Damen finds himself increasingly drawn to the
dangerous, charismatic Laurent. But as the fledgling trust between the
two men deepens, the truth of secrets from both their pasts is poised to
deal them the crowning death blow…
4. King's Rising (Captive Prince #3) – C.S. Pacat ☆☆☆☆☆*
Damianos of Akielos has returned.
His identity now revealed, Damen must face his master Prince Laurent as Damianos of Akielos, the man Laurent has sworn to kill.
On
the brink of a momentous battle, the future of both their countries
hangs in the balance. In the south, Kastor’s forces are massing. In the
north, the Regent’s armies are mobilising for war. Damen’s only hope of
reclaiming his throne is to fight together with Laurent against their
usurpers.
Forced into an uneasy alliance the two princes journey
deep into Akielos, where they face their most dangerous opposition yet.
But even if the fragile trust they have built survives the revelation of
Damen’s identity—can it stand against the Regents final, deadly play
for the throne?
5. Passenger (Passenger #1) – Alexandra Bracken ☆☆☆☆☆*
Passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.
In
one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she
knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a
dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled
not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she
knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of.
Until now.
Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free
from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude
he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger
on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape
and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are
searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only
Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must
ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.
Together,
Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and
continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will
do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they
get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the
Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not
only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.
6. Wayfarer (Passenger #2) – Alexandra Bracken ☆☆☆☆
All Etta Spencer wanted
was to make her violin debut when she was thrust into a treacherous
world where the struggle for power could alter history. After losing the
one thing that would have allowed her to protect the Timeline, and the
one person worth fighting for, Etta awakens alone in an unknown place
and time, exposed to the threat of the two groups who would rather see
her dead than succeed. When help arrives, it comes from the last person
Etta ever expected—Julian Ironwood, the Grand Master’s heir who has long
been presumed dead, and whose dangerous alliance with a man from Etta’s
past could put them both at risk.
Meanwhile, Nicholas and
Sophia are racing through time in order to locate Etta and the missing
astrolabe with Ironwood travelers hot on their trail. They cross paths
with a mercenary-for-hire, a cheeky girl named Li Min who quickly
develops a flirtation with Sophia. But as the three of them attempt to
evade their pursuers, Nicholas soon realizes that one of his companions
may have ulterior motives.
As Etta and Nicholas fight to make
their way back to one another, from Imperial Russia to the Vatican
catacombs, time is rapidly shifting and changing into something
unrecognizable… and might just run out on both of them.
7. Green But For A Season (Captive Prince Short Stories #1) – C.S. Pacat ☆☆☆
Green but for a Season is the first of a series of four Captive Prince short stories. It follows the relationship between Jord and Aimeric and is set during the events of Prince’s Gambit.
8. The Summer Palace (Captive Prince Short Stories #2) – C.S. Pacat ☆☆☆☆
"When all this is over, we could take horses and stay a week in the palace..."
Set after the events of the Captive Prince trilogy, The Summer Palace is a story about Damen and Laurent. It's an epilogue of sorts to the Captive Prince series.
9. It Ends With Us – Colleen Hoover ☆☆☆
Lily hasn't always had
it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she
wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she
grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her
own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon
named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too
good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, and maybe even a
little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft
spot for Lily, but Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is
disturbing.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm
her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan - her first love and a link to the
past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When
Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is
threatened.
With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen
Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground
for her as a writer. It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love
that comes at the ultimate price.
This book contains graphic scenes and very sensitive subject matter.
10. The Two Gentlemen of Verona – William Shakespeare ☆☆
The Two Gentlemen of
Verona is commonly agreed to be Shakespeare's first comedy, and probably
his first play. A comedy built around the confusions of doubling,
cross-dressing, and identity, it is also a play about the ideal of male
friendship and what happens to those friendships when men fall in love.
11. I'll Give You the Sun – Jandy Nelson ☆☆☆☆☆*
A brilliant,
luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of
John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell
Jude and her
twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah
draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next
door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and
does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah
are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in
different and dramatic ways . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken,
beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new
force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later
years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have
only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one
another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.
This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.
12. The Bear and the Nightingale – Katherine Arden ☆☆☆1/2
At the edge of the
Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts
grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter
nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings,
listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling
story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid
night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and
honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes
from evil.
After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to
Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred,
Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household
spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing
that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.
And
indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer,
and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother
grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious
stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.
As
danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on
dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her
family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most
frightening tales.
13. History is All You Left Me – Adam Silvera ☆☆☆☆
When Griffin’s first
love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe
implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and
started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to
him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for
himself has gone far off course.
To make things worse, the only
person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how
much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues.
He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive
choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart.
If
Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his
history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.
14. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce ☆☆☆1/2
The first, shortest, and most approachable of James Joyce’s novels, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man portrays
the Dublin upbringing of Stephen Dedalus, from his youthful days at
Clongowes Wood College to his radical questioning of all convention. In
doing so, it provides an oblique self-portrait of the young Joyce
himself. At its center lie questions of origin and source, authority and
authorship, and the relationship of an artist to his family, culture,
and race. Exuberantly inventive in style, the novel subtly and
beautifully orchestrates the patterns of quotation and repetition
instrumental in its hero’s quest to create his own character, his own
language, life, and art: "to forge in the smithy of my soul the
uncreated conscience of my race."
xx
Caroline
Showing posts with label colleen hoover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colleen hoover. Show all posts
Monday, January 30, 2017
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
look at her go: reviewin' reviewin': November 9
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
☆☆☆☆1/2
goodreads/b&n/amazon
blurb: Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.
full review under the cut!
☆☆☆☆1/2
goodreads/b&n/amazon
blurb: Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.
full review under the cut!
Monday, January 25, 2016
top ten tuesday: freebie!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish, and this week's theme is "January 26: Freebie Week! Pick a topic near and dear to your heart! Something you wished was on our official list!"
I'm doing: "Ten Books on my TBR that have been on my TBR that I want to finally read this year!" These are all books that I have on my shelves that I just haven't gotten around to yet!
1. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Through six turbulent months of 1934, 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain keeps a journal, filling three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries about her home, a ruined Suffolk castle, and her eccentric and penniless family. By the time the last diary shuts, there have been great changes in the Mortmain household, not the least of which is that Cassandra is deeply, hopelessly, in love.
2. Confess by Colleen Hoover
Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.
For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.
The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…
3. The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
"I might be Cinderella today, but I dread who they'll think I am tomorrow. I guess it depends on what I do next."
American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.
Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick's sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he's fated to become.
Which is how she gets into trouble.
Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she's sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.
4. Howl's Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones
Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.
5. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
protect the diamonds
survive the clubs
dig deep through the spades
feel the hearts
Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.
That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.
That's when Ed becomes the messenger.
Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?
6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices plastered on lampposts and billboards. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.
Within these nocturnal black-and-white striped tents awaits an utterly unique, a feast for the senses, where one can get lost in a maze of clouds, meander through a lush garden made of ice, stare in wonderment as the tattooed contortionist folds herself into a small glass box, and become deliciously tipsy from the scents of caramel and cinnamon that waft through the air.
Welcome to Le Cirque des RĂªves.
Beyond the smoke and mirrors, however, a fierce competition is under way--a contest between two young illusionists, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in a "game" to which they have been irrevocably bound by their mercurial masters. Unbeknownst to the players, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will.
As the circus travels around the world, the feats of magic gain fantastical new heights with every stop. The game is well under way and the lvies of all those involved--the eccentric circus owner, the elusive contortionist, the mystical fortune-teller, and a pair of red-headed twins born backstage among them--are swept up in a wake of spells and charms.
But when Celia discovers that Marco is her adversary, they begin to think of the game not as a competition but as a wonderful collaboration. With no knowledge of how the game must end, they innocently tumble headfirst into love. A deep, passionate, and magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
Their masters still pull the strings, however, and this unforeseen occurrence forces them to intervene with dangerous consequences, leaving the lives of everyone from the performers to the patrons hanging in the balance.
Both playful and seductive, The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern's spell-casting debut, is a mesmerizing love story for the ages.
7. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
I wasn't free of my past, not yet.
Sydney's blood is special. That's because she's an alchemist - one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiences in question, her future is on the line.
When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the unlikeliest of places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one.
The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden romance lurk both outside - and within - the school grounds. Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only just beginning.
8. The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.
So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.
She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.
9. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy.
Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom's haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands.
Long ago, Kelsea's forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Now, on Kelsea's nineteenth birthday, the tattered remnants of the Queen's Guard—loyal soldiers who protect the throne—have appeared to escort the princess on a perilous journey to the capital to ascend to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling.
Though born of royal blood and in possession of the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic, Kelsea has never felt more uncertain of her ability to rule. But the shocking evil she discovers in the heart of her realm will precipitate an act of immense daring, throwing the entire kingdom into turmoil—and unleashing the Red Queen's vengeance. A cabal of enemies with an array of deadly weapons, from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic, plots to destroy her. But Kelsea is growing in strength and stealth, her steely resolve earning her loyal allies, including the Queen's Guard, led by the enigmatic Lazarus, and the intriguing outlaw known simply as "the Fetch."
Kelsea's quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun. Riddled with mysteries, betrayals, and treacherous battles, Kelsea's journey is a trial by fire that will either forge a legend . . . or destroy her.
10. Winterspell by Claire Legrand
The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince…but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.
New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor’s ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother’s murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.
Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.
Her home is destroyed, her father abducted—by beings distinctly not human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they’re to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets—and a need she can’t define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won’t leave Cane unscathed—if she leaves at all.
Inspired by The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.
hope y'all are having a good week!
xx
sunny
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
top ten tuesday: please santa!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly list feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish, with this week's Christmassy theme being: "December 22: Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year."
1. Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliot
Young, beautiful, and witty, Ginevra de’ Benci longs to take part in the artistic ferment of Renaissance Florence. But as the daughter of a wealthy family in a society dictated by men, she is trapped in an arranged marriage, expected to limit her creativity to domestic duties. Her poetry reveals her deepest feelings, and she aches to share her work, to meet painters and sculptors mentored by the famed Lorenzo de Medici, and to find love.
When the charismatic Venetian ambassador, Bernardo Bembo, arrives in Florence, he introduces Ginevra to a dazzling circle of patrons, artists, and philosophers—a world of thought and conversation she has yearned for. She is instantly attracted to the handsome newcomer, who admires her mind as well as her beauty. Yet Ginevra remains conflicted about his attentions. Choosing her as his Platonic muse, Bembo commissions a portrait by a young Leonardo da Vinci. Posing for the brilliant painter inspires an intimate connection between them—one Ginevra can only begin to understand. In a rich and enthralling world of exquisite art, elaborate feasts, and exhilarating jousts, she faces many temptations to discover her voice, artistic companionship, and a love that defies categorization. In the end, she and Leonardo are caught up in a dangerous and deadly battle between powerful families.
2. November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.
3. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.
On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents.
Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift.
4. Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown
Perfect for fans of Jennifer Donnelly and Libba Bray comes this page-turning historical spy thriller from Teri Brown, author of the Born of Illusion series.
Samantha Donaldson's family has always done its duty for the British Crown. In the midst of World War I, seventeen-year-old Sam follows in their footsteps, serving her country from the homefront as a messenger for the intelligence organization MI5. After her father disappears on a diplomatic mission, she continues their studies of languages, mathematics, and complex puzzles, hoping to make him proud.
When Sam is asked to join the famed women's spy group La Dame Blanche, she's torn—while this could be an unbelievable adventure, how can she abandon her mother, who has already lost a husband? But when her handlers reveal shocking news, Sam realizes she can't refuse the exciting and dangerous opportunity.
Her acceptance leads her straight into the heart of enemy territory on a mission to extract the most valuable British spy embedded in Germany, known only as Velvet. Deep undercover in the court of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Sam must navigate the labyrinthine palace and its many glamorous—and secretive—residents to complete her assignment. To make matters worse she must fight a forbidden attraction to the enemy—a dangerously handsome German guard. In a place where personal politics are treacherously entangled in wartime policy, can Sam find Velvet before it's too late . . . for them both?
A thrilling story of one girl's journey into a deadly world of spy craft and betrayal—with unforgettable consequences.
5. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston
Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.
And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.
Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.
Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.
6. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last - inexorably - into evil.
7. The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta
Finnikin of the Rock and his guardian, Sir Topher, have not been home to their beloved Lumatere for ten years. Not since the dark days when the royal family was murdered and the kingdom put under a terrible curse. But then Finnikin is summoned to meet Evanjalin, a young woman with an incredible claim: the heir to the throne of Lumatere, Prince Balthazar, is alive.
Evanjalin is determined to return home and she is the only one who can lead them to the heir. As they journey together, Finnikin is affected by her arrogance . . . and her hope. He begins to believe he will see his childhood friend, Prince Balthazar, again. And that their cursed people will be able to enter Lumatere and be reunited with those trapped inside. He even believes he will find his imprisoned father.
But Evanjalin is not what she seems. And the truth will test not only Finnikin's faith in her . . . but in himself.
8. The Trouble With Destiny by Lauren Morrill
It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey...
With her trusty baton and six insanely organized clipboards, drum major Liza Sanders is about to take Destiny by storm—the boat, that is. When Liza discovered that her beloved band was losing funding, she found Destiny, a luxury cruise ship complete with pools, midnight chocolate buffets, and a $25,000 spring break talent show prize.
Liza can’t imagine senior year without the band, and nothing will distract her from achieving victory. She’s therefore not interested when her old camp crush, Lenny, shows up on board, looking shockingly hipster-hot. And she’s especially not interested in Russ, the probably-as-dumb-as-he-is-cute prankster jock whose ex, Demi, happens be Liza’s ex–best friend and leader of the Athenas, a show choir that’s the band’s greatest competition.
But it’s not going to be smooth sailing. After the Destiny breaks down, all of Liza’s best-laid plans start to go awry. Liza likes to think of herself as an expert at almost everything, but when it comes to love, she’s about to find herself lost at sea.
9. Around the World in 50 Years by Albert Podell
This is the inspiring story of an ordinary guy who achieved two great goals that others had told him were impossible. First, he set a record for the longest automobile journey ever made around the world, during the course of which he blasted his way out of minefields, survived a serious accident atop the Peak of Death, came within seconds of being lynched in Pakistan, and lost three of the five men who started with him, two to disease, one to the Vietcong.
After that-although it took him forty-seven more years-Albert Podell set another record by going to every country on Earth. He achieved this by surviving riots, revolutions, civil wars, trigger-happy child soldiers, voodoo priests, robbers, pickpockets, corrupt cops, and Cape buffalo. He went around, under, or through every kind of earthquake, cyclone, tsunami, volcanic eruption, snowstorm, and sandstorm that nature threw at him. He ate everything from old camel meat and rats to dung beetles and the brain of a live monkey. And he overcame attacks by crocodiles, hippos, anacondas, giant leeches, flying crabs-and several beautiful girlfriends who insisted that he stop this nonsense and marry them.
Albert Podell's Around the World in 50 Years is a remarkable and meaningful tale of quiet courage, dogged persistence, undying determination, and an uncanny ability to escape from one perilous situation after another-and return with some of the most memorable, frightening, and hilarious adventure stories you have ever read.
10. The Best Thing That Never Happened to Me by Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice
Everyone remembers their first love.
Holly has learnt that life isn't about seizing the moment. She might have harboured dreams about travelling the world as a teenager, but she let go of those - just as she let go of Alex.
But what if the feelings never really went away?
Alex wants to make every moment of his new job count. It's a fresh start in a new city, and he knows that moving to London has nothing to do with Holly. Well, probably.
How do you know if it was meant to be. or never meant to happen at all?
A brilliantly funny, feel-good story of first love, second chances and everything inbetween, perfect for fans of romantic comedies like Love Actually, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones.
what books are on your Christmas list?
xx
Sunny
1. Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliot
Young, beautiful, and witty, Ginevra de’ Benci longs to take part in the artistic ferment of Renaissance Florence. But as the daughter of a wealthy family in a society dictated by men, she is trapped in an arranged marriage, expected to limit her creativity to domestic duties. Her poetry reveals her deepest feelings, and she aches to share her work, to meet painters and sculptors mentored by the famed Lorenzo de Medici, and to find love.
When the charismatic Venetian ambassador, Bernardo Bembo, arrives in Florence, he introduces Ginevra to a dazzling circle of patrons, artists, and philosophers—a world of thought and conversation she has yearned for. She is instantly attracted to the handsome newcomer, who admires her mind as well as her beauty. Yet Ginevra remains conflicted about his attentions. Choosing her as his Platonic muse, Bembo commissions a portrait by a young Leonardo da Vinci. Posing for the brilliant painter inspires an intimate connection between them—one Ginevra can only begin to understand. In a rich and enthralling world of exquisite art, elaborate feasts, and exhilarating jousts, she faces many temptations to discover her voice, artistic companionship, and a love that defies categorization. In the end, she and Leonardo are caught up in a dangerous and deadly battle between powerful families.
2. November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.
3. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish.
On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents.
Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift.
4. Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown
Perfect for fans of Jennifer Donnelly and Libba Bray comes this page-turning historical spy thriller from Teri Brown, author of the Born of Illusion series.
Samantha Donaldson's family has always done its duty for the British Crown. In the midst of World War I, seventeen-year-old Sam follows in their footsteps, serving her country from the homefront as a messenger for the intelligence organization MI5. After her father disappears on a diplomatic mission, she continues their studies of languages, mathematics, and complex puzzles, hoping to make him proud.
When Sam is asked to join the famed women's spy group La Dame Blanche, she's torn—while this could be an unbelievable adventure, how can she abandon her mother, who has already lost a husband? But when her handlers reveal shocking news, Sam realizes she can't refuse the exciting and dangerous opportunity.
Her acceptance leads her straight into the heart of enemy territory on a mission to extract the most valuable British spy embedded in Germany, known only as Velvet. Deep undercover in the court of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Sam must navigate the labyrinthine palace and its many glamorous—and secretive—residents to complete her assignment. To make matters worse she must fight a forbidden attraction to the enemy—a dangerously handsome German guard. In a place where personal politics are treacherously entangled in wartime policy, can Sam find Velvet before it's too late . . . for them both?
A thrilling story of one girl's journey into a deadly world of spy craft and betrayal—with unforgettable consequences.
5. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston
Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.
And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.
Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.
Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.
6. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last - inexorably - into evil.
7. The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta
Finnikin of the Rock and his guardian, Sir Topher, have not been home to their beloved Lumatere for ten years. Not since the dark days when the royal family was murdered and the kingdom put under a terrible curse. But then Finnikin is summoned to meet Evanjalin, a young woman with an incredible claim: the heir to the throne of Lumatere, Prince Balthazar, is alive.
Evanjalin is determined to return home and she is the only one who can lead them to the heir. As they journey together, Finnikin is affected by her arrogance . . . and her hope. He begins to believe he will see his childhood friend, Prince Balthazar, again. And that their cursed people will be able to enter Lumatere and be reunited with those trapped inside. He even believes he will find his imprisoned father.
But Evanjalin is not what she seems. And the truth will test not only Finnikin's faith in her . . . but in himself.
8. The Trouble With Destiny by Lauren Morrill
It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey...
With her trusty baton and six insanely organized clipboards, drum major Liza Sanders is about to take Destiny by storm—the boat, that is. When Liza discovered that her beloved band was losing funding, she found Destiny, a luxury cruise ship complete with pools, midnight chocolate buffets, and a $25,000 spring break talent show prize.
Liza can’t imagine senior year without the band, and nothing will distract her from achieving victory. She’s therefore not interested when her old camp crush, Lenny, shows up on board, looking shockingly hipster-hot. And she’s especially not interested in Russ, the probably-as-dumb-as-he-is-cute prankster jock whose ex, Demi, happens be Liza’s ex–best friend and leader of the Athenas, a show choir that’s the band’s greatest competition.
But it’s not going to be smooth sailing. After the Destiny breaks down, all of Liza’s best-laid plans start to go awry. Liza likes to think of herself as an expert at almost everything, but when it comes to love, she’s about to find herself lost at sea.
9. Around the World in 50 Years by Albert Podell
This is the inspiring story of an ordinary guy who achieved two great goals that others had told him were impossible. First, he set a record for the longest automobile journey ever made around the world, during the course of which he blasted his way out of minefields, survived a serious accident atop the Peak of Death, came within seconds of being lynched in Pakistan, and lost three of the five men who started with him, two to disease, one to the Vietcong.
After that-although it took him forty-seven more years-Albert Podell set another record by going to every country on Earth. He achieved this by surviving riots, revolutions, civil wars, trigger-happy child soldiers, voodoo priests, robbers, pickpockets, corrupt cops, and Cape buffalo. He went around, under, or through every kind of earthquake, cyclone, tsunami, volcanic eruption, snowstorm, and sandstorm that nature threw at him. He ate everything from old camel meat and rats to dung beetles and the brain of a live monkey. And he overcame attacks by crocodiles, hippos, anacondas, giant leeches, flying crabs-and several beautiful girlfriends who insisted that he stop this nonsense and marry them.
Albert Podell's Around the World in 50 Years is a remarkable and meaningful tale of quiet courage, dogged persistence, undying determination, and an uncanny ability to escape from one perilous situation after another-and return with some of the most memorable, frightening, and hilarious adventure stories you have ever read.
10. The Best Thing That Never Happened to Me by Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice
Everyone remembers their first love.
Holly has learnt that life isn't about seizing the moment. She might have harboured dreams about travelling the world as a teenager, but she let go of those - just as she let go of Alex.
But what if the feelings never really went away?
Alex wants to make every moment of his new job count. It's a fresh start in a new city, and he knows that moving to London has nothing to do with Holly. Well, probably.
How do you know if it was meant to be. or never meant to happen at all?
A brilliantly funny, feel-good story of first love, second chances and everything inbetween, perfect for fans of romantic comedies like Love Actually, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones.
what books are on your Christmas list?
xx
Sunny
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