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 passenger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label passenger. Show all posts
Monday, January 30, 2017
Saturday, January 21, 2017
wayfarer: stardust reviews
Wayfarer (Passenger #2)
Alexandra Bracken
☆☆☆☆
goodreads/b&n/amazon
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.
full review under the cut!
Alexandra Bracken
☆☆☆☆
goodreads/b&n/amazon
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.
full review under the cut!
Monday, August 8, 2016
top ten tuesday: rewind
HI EVERYONE! I am finally, finally back to posting top ten tuesdays! This summer, my schedule was super hectic, so I didn't get to post anywhere near as often as I wanted to, and that meant that TTT fell to the wayside. I missed it though! I am really excited to be back doing this week's topic, which is: "August 9: Top Ten Tuesday REWIND -- go back and do a topic you
missed over the years or recently or a topic you really want to revisit
-- I've made a handy spreadsheet to help (currently in the process of finishing it)" Since I haven't done any TTTs recently, I thought I would just go back to a couple of weeks ago and do "Ten Books Set Outside The US (I don't know about you but sooo much of
what I read is set in the US and I love finding new recs of stuff set
outside of it!)" Since I love traveling and reading about new and exciting places, this one is fun for me :)
1. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Francesca is stuck at St. Sebastian’s, a boys' school that pretends it's coed by giving the girls their own bathroom. Her only female companions are an ultra-feminist, a rumored slut, and an impossibly dorky accordion player. The boys are no better, from Thomas, who specializes in musical burping, to Will, the perpetually frowning, smug moron that Francesca can't seem to stop thinking about.
Then there's Francesca's mother, who always thinks she knows what's best for Francesca—until she is suddenly stricken with acute depression, leaving Francesca lost, alone, and without an inkling of who she really is. Simultaneously humorous, poignant, and impossible to put down, this is the story of a girl who must summon the strength to save her family, her social life and—hardest of all—herself.
A compelling story of romance, family, and friendship with humor and heart, perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Lauren Myracle.
2. Wanderlost – Jen Malone
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.
3. Love & Gelato – Jenna Evans Welch
“I made the wrong choice.”
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 she 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 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.
4. The Loose Ends List – Carrie Firestone
It’s a summer for first love, last wishes, and letting go.
Maddie has big plans to spend the last months before college tying up high school “loose ends” alongside her best friends. Then her beloved grandmother drops two bombshells: (1) Gram is dying. (2) She’s taking her entire family on a round-the-world cruise of dreams come true—but at the end, Gram won’t be returning home.
With a promise to live in the now without regrets, Maddie boards the Wishwell determined to make every moment count. She finds new friends in her fellow Wishwellians, takes advantage of the trip’s many luxuries, gets even closer to her quirky family, and falls for painfully gorgeous Enzo. But despite the copious laughter, headiness of first love, and wonder of the glamorous destinations, Maddie knows she is on the brink of losing Gram, and she struggles to find the strength to let go in a whirlwind summer shaped by love, grief, and laughter.
5. Passenger – 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. 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?
7. The Infernal Devices – Cassandra Clare
In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them...
8. One Paris Summer – Denise Grover Swank
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.
9. Carry On – Rainbow Rowell
Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.
That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.
Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.
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.
10. The Land of 10,000 Madonnas – Kate Hattemer
Five teens backpack through Europe to fulfill the mysterious dying wish of their friend.
Jesse lives with his history professor dad in a house covered with postcards of images of the Madonna from all over the world. They’re gotten used to this life: two motherless dudes living among thousands of Madonnas. But Jesse has a heart condition that will ultimately cut his life tragically short. Before he dies, he arranges a mysterious trip to Europe for his three cousins, his best friend, and his girlfriend to take after he passes away. It’s a trip that will forever change the lives of these young teens and one that will help them come to terms with Jesse’s death.
what's on your TTT list this week?
xx
Caroline
1. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Francesca is stuck at St. Sebastian’s, a boys' school that pretends it's coed by giving the girls their own bathroom. Her only female companions are an ultra-feminist, a rumored slut, and an impossibly dorky accordion player. The boys are no better, from Thomas, who specializes in musical burping, to Will, the perpetually frowning, smug moron that Francesca can't seem to stop thinking about.
Then there's Francesca's mother, who always thinks she knows what's best for Francesca—until she is suddenly stricken with acute depression, leaving Francesca lost, alone, and without an inkling of who she really is. Simultaneously humorous, poignant, and impossible to put down, this is the story of a girl who must summon the strength to save her family, her social life and—hardest of all—herself.
A compelling story of romance, family, and friendship with humor and heart, perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Lauren Myracle.
2. Wanderlost – Jen Malone
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.
3. Love & Gelato – Jenna Evans Welch
“I made the wrong choice.”
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 she 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 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.
4. The Loose Ends List – Carrie Firestone
It’s a summer for first love, last wishes, and letting go.
Maddie has big plans to spend the last months before college tying up high school “loose ends” alongside her best friends. Then her beloved grandmother drops two bombshells: (1) Gram is dying. (2) She’s taking her entire family on a round-the-world cruise of dreams come true—but at the end, Gram won’t be returning home.
With a promise to live in the now without regrets, Maddie boards the Wishwell determined to make every moment count. She finds new friends in her fellow Wishwellians, takes advantage of the trip’s many luxuries, gets even closer to her quirky family, and falls for painfully gorgeous Enzo. But despite the copious laughter, headiness of first love, and wonder of the glamorous destinations, Maddie knows she is on the brink of losing Gram, and she struggles to find the strength to let go in a whirlwind summer shaped by love, grief, and laughter.
5. Passenger – 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. 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?
7. The Infernal Devices – Cassandra Clare
In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them...
8. One Paris Summer – Denise Grover Swank
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.
9. Carry On – Rainbow Rowell
Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.
That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.
Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.
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.
10. The Land of 10,000 Madonnas – Kate Hattemer
Five teens backpack through Europe to fulfill the mysterious dying wish of their friend.
Jesse lives with his history professor dad in a house covered with postcards of images of the Madonna from all over the world. They’re gotten used to this life: two motherless dudes living among thousands of Madonnas. But Jesse has a heart condition that will ultimately cut his life tragically short. Before he dies, he arranges a mysterious trip to Europe for his three cousins, his best friend, and his girlfriend to take after he passes away. It’s a trip that will forever change the lives of these young teens and one that will help them come to terms with Jesse’s death.
what's on your TTT list this week?
xx
Caroline
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
top ten tuesday recent five stars
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is "March 29: 10 Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads (Or Ten Of The Best
Books I've Read Recently if you don't 5 star stuff...or you could do 5
of my latest five star reads & five of my most disappointing or 1
star reads)" And BOY do I LOVE talking about my latest five star reviews so HERE WE GO!



1. Clockwork Prince – Cassandra Clare
This was a reread for me, one of my absolute favorite series. If you haven't read The Infernal Devices yet, honestly, what are you doing with your life? Will Herondale is my number one book crush, and I identify so much with Tessa. These books are incredible! Y'all need to give them a chance if you haven't already :)
2. Rebel of the Sands – Alwyn Hamilton
This is hands-down a top three favorite read of the year for me. It totally snuck up, I wasn't expecting to even read it, let alone love it as much as I did. Kickass protagonist, interesting setting, incredible potential for further installments, I just loved it all.
3. Anna and the French Kiss – Stephanie Perkins
Another reread on this list, but this is one of my favorite books of all time! I love basically everything about this book, and every time I read it, the love I have just seems to grow. I love the setting, Paris is such a romantic city, and Anna and Etienne are one of the best couples in YA, to me!
4. Kings Rising – C.S. Pacat
OMG YOU GUYS! This series!! This book is the third and final installment of the trilogy, and it's without a doubt my favorite. There were so many scenes that made me squeal and die from feelings. I can't stress enough how much I love this series.
5. Prince's Gambit – C.S. Pacat
Basically, refer back to what I just said about Kings Rising, apply it to Prince's Gambit, and then read these books and die over how amazing they are.

6. Me Before You – Jojo Moyes
I'll be honest, I've seen Jojo Moyes' books before, but I didn't think about picking any of them up until after I saw the trailer for the movie based on this book. But boy, am I glad that I picked it up. It ended up being heartbreaking and beautiful, and now I can't wait for the movie to come out!
7. I'll Meet You There – Heather Demetrios
This is another one that I wasn't expecting to love. I saw a couple good reviews of it and picked it up because I was kind of in a reading slump at the time. It snapped me right out of it and surprised me on every single page by how much I loved it.
8. Passenger – Alexandra Bracken
I only read the first book of the Darkest Minds series, and I really enjoyed it, but I've just never finished the series. Passenger's premise was something that immediately sparked my interest though, and I ended up falling in love with the book, the characters, and the time-travel aspect of it. Definitely cannot wait for Wayfarer to come out!
9. Truthwitch –Susan Dennard
This was probably the most hyped book of 2015 into 2016, I just heard glowing review after glowing review about it. I was a little apprehensive, because after all of that hype, it would've been so easy for Truthwitch to fall short, but I ended up ADORING this book. I can just tell that this is going to be a new epic series.
10. Ten Thousand Skies Above You – Claudia Gray
I love this series, and I feel like it doesn't get enough love. These settings are so incredible and I am so invested in the happiness of all of these characters! Definitely read these first two books before the third one comes out in November!
what is on your lists this week?
xx
Caroline
Monday, February 1, 2016
top ten tuesday: historical settings
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish, and this week's theme is "February 2: Top Ten Historical Settings You Love/ Ten Historical Settings You'd Love To See or Top Futuristic Books You Love/Ten Futuristic Societies I'd Love To Read in Books --- basically this week is all about the past or the future....spin it however you choose"
I love this topic, so I thought that I would do a mixture of historical settings that I love and historical settings that I can't wait to read about! (which is basically just me being obsessed with England, but that's okay!)
Books with Historical Settings that I Loved
1. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken– WWII London/15th century Syria/others
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
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
2. Scarlet Series by A.C. Gaughen – Late Medeival England
Will Scarlet is good at
two things: stealing from the rich and keeping secrets - skills that
are in high demand in Robin Hood's band of thieves, who protect the
people of Nottingham from the evil sheriff. Scarlet's biggest secret of
all is one only Robin and his men know...that she is posing as a thief; that the slip of a boy who is fast with sharp knives is really a girl.
The
terrible events in her past that led Scarlet to hide her real identity
are in danger of being exposed when the thief taker Lord Gisbourne
arrives in town to rid Nottingham of the Hood and his men once and for
all. As Gisbourne closes in a put innocent lives at risk, Scarlet must
decide how much the people of Nottingham mean to her, especially John
Little, a flirtatious fellow outlaw, and Robin, whose quick smiles have
the rare power to unsettle her. There is real honor among these thieves
and so much more - making this a fight worth dying for.
3. The Season – Regency England
Seventeen year old Lady
Alexandra is strong-willed and sharp-tongued in a house full of older
brothers and their friends, she had to learn to hold her own. Not the
best makings for an aristocratic lady in Regency London. Yet her mother
still dreams of marrying Alex off to someone safe, respectable, and
wealthy. But between ball gown fittings, dances, and dinner parties,
Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get
herself into what may be her biggest scrape yet.
When the Earl of
Blackmoor is mysteriously killed, Alex decides to help his son, the
brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. But will
Alex's heart be stolen in the process? In an adventure brimming with
espionage, murder, and other clandestine affairs, who could possibly
have time to worry about finding a husband? Romance abounds as this
year's season begins!
4. Vengeance Road – Erin Bowman – Arizona Territory, late 1800s
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.
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.
5. Walk On Earth a Stranger – Rae Carson – Early 19th century America
Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes.
Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.
She also has a secret.
Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.
When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.
The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.
Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more.
She also has a secret.
Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it.
When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.
The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.
6. The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller – Classical Greece
Greece in the age of
heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court
of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their difference,
Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men
skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into
something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a
cruel sea goddess.
But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.
But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.
Books with Historical Settings that I'm Looking Forward to
1. Salt to the Sea – Ruta Sepetys – late-WWII
The author of Between Shades of Gray returns to WWII in this epic novel that shines a light on one of the war's most devastating—yet unknown—tragedies.
In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia, and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer toward safety.
Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.
In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia, and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer toward safety.
Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.
2. Blackhearts – Nicole Castroman – late 17th/early 18th century England
Blackbeard the pirate
was known for striking fear in the hearts of the bravest of sailors. But
once he was just a young man who dreamed of leaving his rigid life
behind to chase adventure in faraway lands. Nothing could stop him—until
he met the one girl who would change everything.
Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.
Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England?
From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.
Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of one of Bristol's richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There's just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.
Following her parents' deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she's stuck in England?
From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.
3. The Forbidden Orchid – Sharon Biggs Waller – mid-19th century England and China
Staid, responsible
Elodie Buchanan is the eldest of ten sisters living in a small English
market town in 1861. The girls' father is a plant hunter, usually off
adventuring through the jungles of China.
Then disaster strikes: Mr. Buchanan fails to collect an extremely rare and valuable orchid, meaning that he will be thrown into debtors' prison and the girls will be sent to the orphanage or the poorhouse. Elodie's father has one last chance to return to China, find the orchid, and save the family—and this time, thanks to an unforeseen twist of fate, Elodie is going with him. Elodie has never before left her village, but what starts as fear turns to wonder as she adapts to seafaring life aboard the tea clipper The Osprey, and later to the new sights, dangers, and romance of China.
But even if she can find the orchid, how can she find herself now that staid, responsible Elodie has seen how much the world has to offer?
Then disaster strikes: Mr. Buchanan fails to collect an extremely rare and valuable orchid, meaning that he will be thrown into debtors' prison and the girls will be sent to the orphanage or the poorhouse. Elodie's father has one last chance to return to China, find the orchid, and save the family—and this time, thanks to an unforeseen twist of fate, Elodie is going with him. Elodie has never before left her village, but what starts as fear turns to wonder as she adapts to seafaring life aboard the tea clipper The Osprey, and later to the new sights, dangers, and romance of China.
But even if she can find the orchid, how can she find herself now that staid, responsible Elodie has seen how much the world has to offer?
4. Love, Lies and Spies – Cindy Anstey – 19th century London
Juliana Telford is not
your average nineteenth-century young lady. She’s much more interested
in researching ladybugs than marriage, fashionable dresses, or dances.
So when her father sends her to London for a season, she’s determined
not to form any attachments. Instead, she plans to secretly publish
their research.
Spencer Northam is not the average young gentleman of leisure he appears. He is actually a spy for the War Office, and is more focused on acing his first mission than meeting eligible ladies. Fortunately, Juliana feels the same, and they agree to pretend to fall for each other. Spencer can finally focus, until he is tasked with observing Juliana’s traveling companions . . . and Juliana herself.
Spencer Northam is not the average young gentleman of leisure he appears. He is actually a spy for the War Office, and is more focused on acing his first mission than meeting eligible ladies. Fortunately, Juliana feels the same, and they agree to pretend to fall for each other. Spencer can finally focus, until he is tasked with observing Juliana’s traveling companions . . . and Juliana herself.
5. And I Darken – Kiersten White – 15th century Ottoman Empire
NO ONE EXPECTS A
PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since
she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their
homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the
Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to
survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an
unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes
them special also makes them targets.
Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.
But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.
Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.
But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.
6. The Crown's Game – Evelyn Skye – 19th century Russia (but with magic?)
Vika Andreyeva can
summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through
walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only
two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening,
the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.
And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.
Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?
For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.
And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love . . . or be killed himself.
As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear . . . the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.
And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.
Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?
For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.
And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love . . . or be killed himself.
As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear . . . the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.
link me to your lists, I'd love to see them!
xx
sunny
january wrap-up
Welcome to the first monthly wrap-up post of 2016! As you can see, it looks a bit different here, but the formatting is going to stay wildly the same. January, I have to say, was a very long month for me. I traveled a lot, to Miami and Phoenix, and I started back to school in the early bit of the month. I also managed to read nine things and post four new reviews this month, which makes it fairly successful in my eyes. I hope that the start to your 2016 was wonderful, here we go with the wrap up!
1. Ten Thousand Skies Above You – Claudia Gray
☆☆☆☆☆
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.
2. Steel Scars (Red Queen # 0.2) – Victoria Aveyard
☆☆☆☆
Farley was raised to be strong, but being tasked with planting the seeds of rebellion in Norta is a tougher job than expected. As she travels the land recruiting black market traders, smugglers, and extremists for her first attempt at an attack on the capital, she stumbles upon a connection that may prove to be the key to the entire operation—Mare Barrow.
3. Truthwitch – Susan Dennard
☆☆☆☆☆
On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.
In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.
Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.
Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.
Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.
4. The Song Of Achilles – Madeline Miller
☆☆☆☆☆
Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their difference, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess.
But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.
5. A Good Man is Hard to Find – Flannery O'Connor
☆☆☆
6. Passenger – 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
7. Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman
☆☆☆☆☆
8. I'll Meet You There – Heather Demetrios
☆☆☆☆☆
If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.
Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.
9. Washington Square – Henry James
☆☆☆
The plot of Washington Square has the simplicity of old-fashioned melodrama: a plain-looking, good-hearted young woman, the only child of a rich widower, is pursued by a charming but unscrupulous man who seeks the wealth she will presumably inherit. On this premise, Henry James constructed one of his most memorable novels, a story in which love is answered with betrayal and loyalty leads inexorably to despair."
-- from the Introduction by Peter Conn
In Washington Square (1880), Henry James reminisces about the New York he had known thirty years before as he tells the story of Catherine Sloper and her fortune-seeking suitor Morris Townsend. This perceptively drawn human drama is James' most accessible work and an enduring literary triumph.
what did you guys end up reading/loving this month?
xx
Sunny
Monday, January 25, 2016
look at her go: reviewin' reviewin': passenger
Passenger (Passenger #1) – Alexandra Bracken
☆☆☆☆☆
goodreads/b&n/amazon
synopsis: 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
full review of this awesome novel under the cut!
☆☆☆☆☆
goodreads/b&n/amazon
synopsis: 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
full review of this awesome novel under the cut!
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