top ten tuesday: new-to-me authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at the Broke and the Bookish, and this week's theme is " December 6: Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read For The First Time In 2016!" I recently did a post where I talked about some pretty awesome new to me authors, but it was only three so I will include them here as well :)

1. Mindy McGinnis– The Female of the Species 

review here

I'd heard about Mindy McGinnis before, about her Not A Drop To Drink series and also about last year's A Madness So Discreet, but I had just never gotten around to reading anything by her, despite the amazing things that I was hearing about her and her writing. So you can imagine my sheer delight when I read The Female of the Species and was utterly blown away by it. One of the best books of the year, imo, and super important as well.

 

2. Anna Marie McLemore– When the Moon Was Ours 

review here

UM!!! Okay. So I received this book as an arc, and I definitely did not have very many expectations for it at all. Not that I wasn't excited, I just hadn't heard much about it and didn't really know what to expect. BUT HOO BOY!! This book was a gorgeous adventure into the world of magical realism, and it looked at contemporary issues through that lens, which ended up being super effective. I definitely applaud Anna Marie McLemore for this novel. 

3. Susan Dennard – Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) 

review here

I know, I know... how had I never read Susan Dennard before this year?? I had heard so much about her Something Strange and Deadly Series, but I'm not a big fan of zombies, and so I just held off. But Truthwitch? Truthwitch was ex-act-ly what I was looking for in a high fantasy. Best friends and magical powers and political intrigue and cute boys? YES. All of the above!! I absolutely cannot wait for the second book to come out in January!

4. Heather Demetrios – I'll Meet You There

review here

I had heard about Heather Demetrios, both from her contemporary and fantasy stuff, but even though Exquisite Captive has been on my TBR for what feels like forever, I had never read anything by her until I picked this book up on a whim in the spring. I was absolutely in love with this story from page one, and I think it took me about a day to read. One of my favorite contemporaries from the year for sure, will definitely read more of Demetrios in the future!

5. C.S. Pacat – Captive Prince Trilogy (book 3, Kings Rising, pictured) 

review here

Y'all do not even know how deep my love for Captive Prince is. I feel like I've talked about it so much on here, but let me just go deeper into my love for it. It is a high fantasy m/m story and I just have no words for how amazing it is. The two main characters are my precious cinnamon rolls, the supporting cast is all kind of awesome, and book three in its entirety is just like everything amazing that you want to happen, happening all at once. I am planning on rereading this series first thing in 2017!!!

6. Alwyn Hamilton – Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1) 

review here

This was one of the biggest surprises of the year for me, because I honestly do not have a lot of interest in westerns, and this book was described to me as western meets middle eastern. BUT I picked it up because the first chapter grabbed me, and I barely put it down until I finished. Y'all this book is so much fun, it is just nonstop action with some awesome character development, magical powers, and a little bit of romance thrown in. Absolutely LOVE.

7. Carrie Firestone – The Loose Ends List 

review here

This was my favorite contemporary that I've read this year. I absolutely adored it. I got it in arc form, completely fell in love, then bought two copies of it when it came out because that is how much I loved it. I have a couple of posts where I just gush about how much I love this one, so I'll keep this brief: This book is heartwrenching and heartwarming all at the same time. It talks about family in a way that just got to me, and I loved the settings. Would be a great Christmas read, IMO, but that's because I think it would be a great anytime read!

8. Adam Silvera – More Happy Than Not 

review here

 I'd honestly followed Adam Silvera on twitter even before I thought about picking this book up, just cause I really like his tweets, so I felt like I had already read something by him, then when I picked this up I realized... no. But in the best way!! This book is so emotional and timely, it made me think a lot about big ideas about society and culture, while also keeping me 100% hooked on the story here. I would highly highly recommend this one!

9. Claire Legrand – Some Kind of Happiness

review here

Again, as with a lot of these authors, I had heard about Legrand, and wanted to read both her Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls and Winterspell, but I never got around to it. This book, however, completely clicked with me when I picked it up. This is a truly amazing depicting of what mental illness looks like in a child who has no words to describe what they are feeling. Magical and important, and I would like to erase it from my memory so I could read it again for the first time.

10. Colleen Hoover– November 9

review here

Okay, before you say anything, I know that it is odd that I've never read Colleen Hoover before! I honestly don't read that much NA, but I'd heard so much about her from so many people, I had to pick one up. People have told me this is not her best by far, but I really enjoyed it and will definitely read her again! 

what is on your lists this week?

xx 

Caroline

june wrap-up!

hi everyone and welcome to another monthly wrap-up here at Stardust Words! :) Here we are, halfway through 2016. It is completely unreal to me that this year is going by so fast! I hope that you guys are having good years, both reading-wise and in your personal lives.

This month, I ended up reading 11 books and posting 5 reviews, which isn't a huge number, especially considering it's summer and I'm a lot more free, but it has been a pretty busy month, so I'm okay with it! Here's my wrap-up :)

1. One Paris Summer – Denise Grover Swank ☆☆☆1/2

Most teens dream of visiting the City of Lights, but it feels more like a nightmare for Sophie Brooks. She and her brother are sent to Paris to spend the summer with their father, who left home a year ago without any explanation. As if his sudden abandonment weren't betrayal enough, he's about to remarry, and they’re expected to play nice with his soon-to-be wife and stepdaughter. The stepdaughter, Camille, agrees to show them around the city, but she makes it clear that she will do everything in her power to make Sophie miserable.

Sophie could deal with all the pain and humiliation if only she could practice piano. Her dream is to become a pianist, and she was supposed to spend the summer preparing for a scholarship competition. Even though her father moved to Paris to pursue his own dream, he clearly doesn't support hers. His promise to provide her with a piano goes unfulfilled.

Still, no one is immune to Paris’s charm. After a few encounters with a gorgeous French boy, Sophie finds herself warming to the city, particularly when she discovers that he can help her practice piano. There’s just one hitch—he’s a friend of Camille’s, and Camille hates Sophie. While the summer Sophie dreaded promises to become best summer of her life, one person could ruin it all.  

2. Brightwood – Tania Unsworth (3.5) ☆☆☆1/2

Daisy Fitzjohn knows there are two worlds: the outside world and the world of Brightwood Hall, her home--and the only place she’s ever been. Daisy and her mother have everything they need within its magnificent, half-ruined walls. They may not have a computer or phone, but Daisy has all the friends she could want, including a mischievous talking rat named Tar and the ghostly presence of a long-ago explorer who calls herself Frank.

When Daisy’s mother leaves one morning, a strange visitor arrives on the estate, claiming to be a distant cousin, James Gritting. But as the days tick by and Daisy’s mother doesn’t return, Gritting becomes more and more menacing. He wants Brightwood for himself, and he will do anything to get it, unless Daisy, with only her imaginary companions to help her, can stop him.  

3. The BFG – Roald Dahl (reread)

Captured by a giant! The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, the Bonecruncher, or any of the other giants-rather than the BFG-she would have soon become breakfast.

When Sophie hears that they are flush-bunking off in England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!





 

4. Wanderlost – Jen Malone ☆☆☆☆ (link to GR review) 

Not all those who wander are lost, but Aubree Sadler most definitely is on this novel’s whirlwind trip through Europe.

Aubree can’t think of a better place to be than in perfectly boring Ohio, and she’s ready for a relaxing summer. But when her older sister, Elizabeth, gets into real trouble, Aubree is talked into taking over Elizabeth’s summer job, leading a group of senior citizens on a bus tour through Europe.

Aubree doesn’t even make it to the first stop in Amsterdam before their perfect plan unravels, leaving her with no phone, no carefully prepared binder full of helpful facts, and an unexpected guest: the tour company owner’s son, Sam. Considering she’s pretending to be Elizabeth, she absolutely shouldn’t fall for him, but she can’t help it, especially with the most romantic European cities as the backdrop for their love story.

But her relationship with Sam is threatening to ruin her relationship with her sister, and she feels like she’s letting both of them down. Aubree knows this trip may show her who she really is—she just hopes she likes where she ends up.

5. Love and Gelato – Jenna Evans Welch ☆☆☆☆☆

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.

But then Lina is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept from Lina for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

6. Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies – Laura Stampler ☆☆☆☆

Harper Anderson always believed she belonged somewhere more glamorous than her sleepy Northern California suburb. After all, how many water polo matches and lame parties in Bobby McKittrick's backyard can one girl take? That's why Harper is beyond ecstatic when she lands her dream internship as a dating blogger at the elite teen magazine Shift. Getting to spend the summer in New York City to live her dream of becoming a writer? Harper's totally in.

There's just one teeny, tiny, infinitesimal problem: Apart from some dance floor make-outs, Harper doesn't have a lot of - or, really, any - dating expertise. In fact, she might have sort of stolen her best friend's experiences as her own on her Shift application. But she can learn on the job...right?

From awkward run-ins with the cute neighborhood dog-walker to terrifying encounters with her crazed editor, from Brooklyn gallery openings to weekends in the Hamptons, Harper finds out what it takes to make it in the Big City--and as the writer of her own destiny. 

7. Sing – Vivi Greene ☆☆☆

Multiplatinum pop icon Lily Ross’s biggest hits and biggest heartbreaks (because they are one and the same):

1. AGONY. (That feeling when her ex ripped her heart out of her chest and she never saw it coming.)
2. GHOSTS. (Because even famous people are ghosted by guys sometimes. And it sucks just as much.)
3. ONCE BITTEN. (As in: twice shy. Also, she’s never dating an actor or a musician ever again.)

But this summer’s going to be different. After getting her heart shattered, Lily is taking herself out of the spotlight and heading to a small island in middle-of-nowhere Maine with her closest friends. She has three months until her fall tour starts-three months to focus on herself, her music, her new album. Anything but guys.
That is . . . until Lily meets sweet, down-to-earth local Noel Bradley, who is so different from anyone she’s ever dated. Suddenly, Lily’s “summer of me” takes an unexpected turn, and she finds herself falling deeper and harder than ever before. But Noel isn’t interested in the limelight. She loves Noel-but she loves her fans, too. And come August, she may be forced to choose.
 

8. Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles #1) – 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.

9. Tiny Pretty Things – Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra ☆☆☆☆ (reread)

Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette's desire to escape the shadow of her ballet star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever. When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.





 

10. Eleanor and Park – Rainbow Rowell ☆☆☆☆☆ (reread) 

Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.
 

11. More Happy Than Not – Adam Silvera ☆☆☆☆

In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for 16-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again--but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely.

When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is.

Why does happiness have to be so hard? 

what did you guys read and love this month?

xx
Caroline

more happy than not: stardust reviews

More Happy Than Not
by Adam Silvera

☆☆☆☆

goodreads/b&n/amazon

In his twisty, gritty, profoundly moving debut—called “mandatory reading” by the New York Times—Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx.

In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for 16-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again--but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely.

When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is.

Why does happiness have to be so hard?

full review under the cut!