waiting on wednesday: empire of storms

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

This week's pick: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5)
by Sarah J Maas

release date: September 6th by Bloomsbury

(major spoilers for Throne of Glass series in description!)


The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?

~~~
In honor of the incredible cover that we have only just recently received, I thought that this week's WoW should feature Empire of Storms! I have absolutely loved every single installment in the Throne of Glass series, and I feel like each book is just getting more and more amazing :) I can't believe that we only have two more books. It feels like yesterday when Crown of Midnight came out. I cannot wait to see what Sarah J Maas cooks up for us in this fifth book. Is it September yet??

xx
Caroline

HAMILTON booktag

Umm, so basically, like just about everyone else in the world right now, I'm obsessed with Hamilton. If you've been living under a rock and haven't heard about it, it is a hip-hop Broadway musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton. It's one of the most amazing things to ever exist in the world, and its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, is one of my favorite people ever, and the creator of another popular show, In The Heights. When I saw that Krystianna did this tag over on her wonderful blog, Downright Dystopian, I knew that I had to do this one as well! So thank you Krystianna for the tag and also for the images of the song titles, which I am borrowing here! Here is the link to the OP of this tag.  Here we go!

I would love to be a Shadowhunter. Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series were some of the first books that I read that really got me into the online book community. They remain some of my favorites, and I love the idea that, in this world, the fantastic is just right under everyone's noses. I would want to be a Shadowhunter for sure, but just seeing vampires and werewolves and seelies and warlocks would be incredible for me. Or, taking it even further, going back to Victorian London and being a Shadowhunter there would be just as amazing.

Louis Lane from Gwenda Bond's incredible series! I read the first book over the summer, and the second one is supposed to be coming out later this year. I don't hear nearly enough praise for this book, because I think that it is wonderful, and Lois is an incredible character. She's a precocious loudmouth who can't keep her nose where it belongs, which is useful, because it gets her into all kinds of scrapes that are both exciting and rather funny. I love the idea that Lois Lane has always been incredible, and she doesn't need Clark Kent to make her so. Love this book, can't wait for the next one.

Of course, I'm going with Delilah Bard from The Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab. The second novel is out next week (!!!!) so there's still time to hop on this incredible bangwagon. Lila a swashbuckling fiend who dreams of getting out of the gray doldrums of London, where she is trapped in a man's world. When she runs across Kell, a magical traveler, she sees it as her opportunity to become something more than the hand she's been dealt, and follows him into the unknown, hoping for adventure and, just maybe, a ship to fuel her escape into the unknown.

What else can I choose but the relationship in the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth??? No spoilers here, if you haven't already had your heart ripped mercilessly out of your chest, but this is one of the saddest endings to a book or series that I have ever run across. I think I cried just as much the first time I read TFIOS as I did when I finished Allegiant, and that is saying something, for sure. I swear, this was the most unnecessary plot twist in the entire world, and I still can't quite wrap my head around the fact that it actually happened.

Besides King George himself, who I would pick if I could, I am going to go with basically everyone from Vicious by V.E. Schwab (her second appearance on this list, woohoo) There is a lot of gray area over who is evil and who is not, and I'm not sure there is ever even a clear answer about who we are supposed to root for, but the one thing that I do know is that everyone in this book has their sassy moments, for sure.

I thought that I saw the plot twist coming in the end of Crown of Midnight, the second book in Sarah J Maas' Throne of Glass series, but it turns out I was MISTAKEN. It took me totally by surprised, the direction that Mass took the character of Celaena, and she continued with that amazing arc through the third and fourth books. Queen of Shadows had about 15 plot twists that I totally didn't see coming, and I loved every single second of it. From the reveal moment in the second book, these books have not taken their foot off the gas.

When the fourth book came out last summer, I marathoned all of The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer. I think that these lend themselves really well to marathoning. They are middle grade, which makes them super quick and fun reads, and the world is so fun to slip into, you won't realize that you've read through two books before you reach for the third one. I would definitely recommend this series to fairy tale and MG fantasy lovers. The characters and the plot events are just wildly entertaining.

I am a huge fan of multiple POVs. I absolutely love reading from many different character's perspectives, especially if it is done right. The most recent book that I loved with multiple POVs was Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. There are six main characters in this novel, and all of them have such a distinct voice. Bardugo manages to juggle them expertly, giving them all screen time without detracting from the depth of their characters. Love love love this novel, so sad that it is only going to be a duet.

Um, duh. 

(This is spoilery, obviously)

Basically, the end of The Book Thief destroyed me, and I wish that I could go in there and make the bomb not fall, saving everyone close to Liesel, but especially Rudy. I swear to God, when Rudy died, I wanted to rip out my own hair and just cry forever, which I basically did. This book is so beautiful and heartbreaking, especially in the end, and I love it for that and also in spite of it.

If you love Hamilton and want to do this tag, please do and comment a link to your post!! I would love to see what you guys come up with! 

xx

Sunny

♔ disney princess book tag ♔

Y'all I saw this tag today and my first thought is "HOW have I not done this one yet??" My love for Disney and for books are two things that know no bounds. I first saw this over at Alexa Loves Books, but it was created by Of Stacks and Cups! I can't wait for this one.

You're supposed to start off with three facts about Disney Princesses, so here goes:

1. Belle is and always was my favorite princess, but I also love Tiana a lot.
2. I have all the Disney animated movies on VHS to this day, and Robin Hood was the one I watched most as a kid. (I had a crush on Robin okay)
3. Disney songs basically get me through my days... I know all of them. Even the most obscure. I know it. By heart. Don't test me.

Onto the tag! (these edits came from disneyismyescape.tumblr.com!)

1. Snow White | Favorite Classic

My favorite classic has been Little Women since I first read the "junior" version when I was eight years old. I have always seen a lot of myself in Jo, both good and bad, and I love the story, the sisterhood, and the language of this book. Will always be one of my all time favorites, and it is an amazing audiobook too! 

2. Cinderella | A Book That Kept You Up Past Your Bedtime

 

I distinctly remember picking this up when it first came out, then looking up at the clock and it was somehow 2am. This one definitely gripped me from the start, and didn't let go until I had finished! Still one of my favorite reading experiences, ever, the way it just made me forget about everything else going on. 

3. Aurora | Favorite Classic Romance 

 

One of my absolute favorite romances is between Fanny and Edmund in Mansfield Park. I know that this is definitely not one of the most popular Austen novels, but I have always loved this book, and I love the ease of the relationship between these two. (Even though they're cousins, which I can look past, lol) 

4. Ariel | A Book About Making Sacrifices For Your Dreams 

 

In this book, Dee sacrifices what she feels like could be true love in pursuit of her dream of being a singer. This doesn't mean she isn't true to herself, just that the boy she loves doesn't necessarily fit into her life and her dreams. She's focusing on herself above all else, and the things that she wants, which will eventually make her happy, instead of changing for someone else. 

5. Belle | A Book With a Strong, Independent Female Character

 

This series in general has so many smart female characters, all of whom are independent and amazing on their own. First of all, of course, our protag Celaena is the most badass of all. But then there's Nehemia, Ansel, Manon, Lysandra and and Elide. The Throne of Glass world is just chock full of amazing female characters, which is a big reason why I love this series so much. 

6. Jasmine | A Book Where the Character Challenged Social Conventions 

 

Vengeance Road was one of my favorite books of 2015, and that had a lot to do with Kate, our main character. She definitely challenged the social conventions of the Wild West, with basically everything she did, from dressing like a boy to going on a treasure hunt to learning to shoot a gun to allowing herself to be alone with two boys. She was totally awesome because of it.

7. Pocahontas | A Book Whose Ending Was A Roller Coaster of Emotions

 

I'm going to agree with OP on this one... I have never ever read a book where I cried more than this one. For one, this is one of my favorite series EVER. I was so invested in every single character, and there was absolutely no way that they could all end up happy at the same time. Therefore: tears. Happy, sad, all mixed together into a really gross mixture that left me feeling drained. 

8. Mulan | A Book With A Kickass Female Character 

 

Obviously, I love books with kickass female characters, so there are tons to choose from, but the reason that I choose Shazi from The Wrath and the Dawn is because she is kickass in a different, more subtle way. She doesn't go around cutting down everyone who goes against her, like, say Celaena does, but she is kickass in her own way. She is a boss, she is self-possessed and strong, and she completely controls her own destiny, even when it seems like she has no choices. 

9. Tiana | A Book With a Hardworking, Self-Made Character

 

I just finished this book last night, and maybe that's why I'm hard pressed to think of a character who works harder than Skylar Evans. She lives in a shit town, but works two jobs and keeps her grades and her personal life as close to perfect as she can, all the while taking care of a mentally ill mother and earning herself a free ride to a college where she can study art. 

10. Rapunzel | A Book That Features An Artist 

 

Isla and the Happily Ever After features some of the best art couple aesthetic opportunities that I've ever seen! I love this story, and how it focuses on art as a way to express love or affection. It is also the third book of three companion novels that I absolutely will adore forever, so that is also something good going for it.

11. Merida | A Book That Features a Mother/Daughter Relationship

This book features a relationship between America, who we got to know in the first three books of the Selection Series, and her daughter Eadlyn, who is just introduced in this fourth book. I loved getting to see a character I know and love all grown up, which is something that does not normally happen. Though they can have a sort of tempestuous relationship, they are still close, which I love reading about. 

12. Anna and Elsa | A Book With A Great Relationships Between Siblings

 

Margot, Lara Jean and Kitty are the Song girls. Three sisters who lost their mother, but who grew closer because of it. This book is one of my favorite sister books that I've ever read: it is a cute contemporary, but it is just as much about family as it is romance, and I thought the relationships between the three girls were realistic and sweet at the same time. 

So that's it for the Disney Princess tag! If you decide to do this, link me, I would love to see what some of your answers are! 

xx

Sunny

top ten tuesday: top ten new releases from 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at the Broke and the Bookish, and this week's theme is: "December 15: Top Ten Best Books I Read In 2015 (you can do it by only 2015 releases,  overall , by genre (top ten fantasy books I read in 2015), etc. however you choose to make your BEST list)" I chose to do this one as Top Ten New Releases that I Read in 2015, because I will have a bigger list of all my favorites later this month. So think of this as a preview list of the real one that will be posted later :)

listed in order of release date! 

1. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard: review here

This is a world divided by blood - red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart...

2.  Mosquitoland by David Arnold: review here


"I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange."

After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.

So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.

Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, "Mosquitoland" is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

3.  The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord: review here

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

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

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

4. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: review here

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

5. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir: review here

Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

6. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas: review here 

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down! 

7. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh: review here 

One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end. 

8. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas: review here

The queen has returned.

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

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

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

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

9. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: review here 

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

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

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

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

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

10. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell: review here

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.

what have been some of your favorites this year?

xx
Sunny