top ten tuesday: bookworm delights

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish! This week's theme is "April 26: Top Ten Bookworm Delights (inspired by this post I did on my own blog)" I love this one, there are so many things besides even actually reading them that I love about books.

1. Bookstores – basically, if you put me in any bookstore in any city in the world, I will immediately feel calmer and more at home. There is something about the atmosphere of a bookstore that is just incredibly welcoming and centering to me. Whether it is a huge, two story Barnes and Noble, a local shop, or a hole in wall used shop, I love them all equally.

2. Cover Reveals – I am a cover junkie. I have bought books just because of their covers before. And there is something so satisfying about waiting to see the cover of a book you are waiting for, then seeing it and getting even more excited for the book. Bonus points if it is a cover in a series, and you can just imagine how nicely the new cover will go with the rest of your books.

3. Reading when it's rainy outside – Isn't loving this feeling required for every bookworm? When it's raining and I'm curled up by the window with a book and a cup of coffee, that is the happiest that I'll be all week. I just love the coziness of that feeling. Bonus points here if it is SNOWING.

4. When an author you admire acknowledges you on social media – Some of my favorite authors are also some of my favorite people that I follow on Twitter or tumblr (Victoria Aveyard and Emery Lord are two off the top of my head), and I love when they acknowledge something that I've tweeted at them. I love how inclusive this community is, and the relationship between readers and authors makes me happy.


5. Organizing your bookshelves – I love this feeling, when I pull all of my books out and come up
with new systems to put them back in. It's like high-stakes tetris, especially when you don't have enough room on your shelves for all of the beauties that you own. I am including a gratuitous pic of my beautiful shelves here, because I spend all of my time admiring them.


6. Recommending a book to someone and having them love it – this is one of the most gratifying feelings in the world. Especially when the person you've recommended the book to comes back and wants to have long conversations about the book.

7. Related, but when people ask you to recommend a book to them because they know you'll be able to think of something that they would like – This is related to number six, but I love when people know that I will be able to hook them up with an awesome book and come to me with that specific request

8. Bookish related swag – stickers, posters, candles, jewelry, tote bags, etc. I love it ALL. I also especially love when someone compliments you on your bookish swag and then you end up having a nice conversation with them about books in general. Some of my favorite places to get stuff like this are redbubble and society6, if anyone is wondering.

9. Lively debates about your favorite books – especially when your friends disagree with you about shipping. I love it when you are both passionate about your side of the argument, and you can go back and forth about the merits of a ship, a plotline, or an ending. This is one of my favorite things to do with my friends that read as much as I do.

10. When the cover of a book has raised type or shiny bits, or when it has cool endpapers, or when it looks really pretty without the book jacket, or when there's a map... basically when there are amazing little details in the design of the book – I just really appreciate when all of the little things come together to make the book an amazing visual experience.

Link me to your top ten posts!

xx
Caroline

spotlight on: totally should've booktag

Welcome to another month of "Spotlight On" posts here at Stardust and Words! This is a monthly feature that I head up here, where each post has a different bookish theme. You can find the rest of the spotlight posts here! This month, I am doing a booktag for my spotlight post. I saw this tag first on Katytastic's channel on youtube, but it was created by Emma at emmmabooks! If this tag appeals to you, I tag you in it :) Hopefully y'all will enjoy this, I just love doing tags!

The Totally Should've Booktag

1. Totally should’ve gotten a sequel 

 I'm cheating and putting two books here, and NO ONE can stop me! I love a good contemporary that makes me have all of the feelings, but they are never long enough for my taste! Both The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord and Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda were AMAZING!!! Two of my favorite contemporaries ever. And I loved their endings a lot, so I don't necessarily want them to be longer. However, I would LOVE to see a sequel to either one of these, perhaps with the characters in college or something! I would love to read about Paige and Max or Simon and Blue again, they are some of my absolute favorite characters! (Emery Lord or Becky Albertalli or both... PLEASE?) That is the dream.
 

2. Totally should’ve had a spin off series

Maybe I'm just selfish when it comes to my favorite characters, but I definitely did not want to let this series go. I understand that the main arc of the trilogy is over, but that definitely doesn't mean that there couldn't be another series to go along with this one. There are tons of possibilities with this world. I would love to see Damen and Laurent rebuilding after the events of Kings Rising, or a spin off about Jord, or about one of the other empires that we didn't focus on in this series, or about a future where Damen and Laurent's successors are ruling. There is a lot of potential here, and  I would love to read another series in this world.

3. An author who totally should write more books

Jandy Nelson! She is so incredibly talented, her ability to put words together into magic is unparalleled. She only has two books out right now, and it has been SO LONG since I'll Give You The Sun came out. I need some more of her magic words in my life. I know that she has another book coming out in early 2017 (*I think*) but I need it to be sooner. I would just love to read absolutely anything she writes. 



 

4. A character who totally should’ve ended up with someone else  

I won't say anything too spoilery here, in case you haven't finished this trilogy, but I wasn't 100% happy with who Alina ended up with in Ruin and Rising, at the end of the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. It made sense, following from the events of that book, but I might've  had her end up with someone else. That being said, I wasn't unhappy with the end, per se, but it wasn't as satisfying as I wanted it to be. Honestly, I really wanted Alina to end up being by herself and being fine with it, but I understand why the book took the route it did! 

  

5. Totally should’ve ended differently

I think that we can ALL agree on this one. When I first read this book, I couldn't believe what was actually happening, I just kept on reading to the end, hoping that it was a sick joke. Then, when there were no more pages, I closed it, threw it across my bedroom, and just started crying. I mean, this was total BS, right?? It was unnecessary to cause us that much pain, especially after the series had spent three books building and characterizing?? I will literally never get over the fact that this one ended the way that it did. Insanity. 

  

6. Totally should’ve had a movie franchise  

How awesome would it be to see the world of the Lunar Chronicles on the big screen? The high tech, futuristic world, mixed with the multiple settings that come with the installments of these books? Plus, the characters are so diverse, I just think that this could be a blockbuster. I also think it could work well as a TV show, but the settings lend it perfectly to a movie. Plus, there's the added feature of them being fairy tale retellings, which would attract another audience altogether. PLEASE hollywood, make these books into movies, and if you actually do, please do a good job.

 

7. Totally should’ve had a TV show

I think that we can all agree that the Percy Jackson movies sucked. I mean, they literally did not even attempt to make them good. They could've had another Harry Potter franchise on their hands, but they chose to make stupid decisions which made it pretty much impossible for them to keep making the movies. However!!! There are 10 books in the PJO and HOO series, which would make for a really really awesome TV series! If they started out with younger kids and let them age up naturally, I think it could be so awesome and different. I mean, look at Shadowhunters! The TV show is already doing better than the movie did. PJO could benefit from that as well. 
 
8. Totally should’ve had only one point of view

I honestly don't have an answer for this one. I generally like books with multiple POVs. The only one that I could maybe think of is Allegiant, but even that I didn't really mind! 
 

9. Totally should have a cover change

I usually would say that nothing should ever have a cover change, because I hate it when my books don't match, but I seriously cannot believe that they made six books with these covers for Vampire Academy. They're cheesy and actually kind of creepy, and I just think that there are so many more, better options for this series. The books are really good, but the covers actually suck. 



 

10. Totally should’ve kept the original covers

I WILL NEVER BE OVER THIS. LOOK HOW PRETTY THE COVER FOR UNSPOKEN IS! Then look how utterly underwhelming the cover for Untold is. I literally stopped reading this series partially because they changed the covers and I was so mad about it. Also because the ending of the first one made me so sad, I surpassed sad and when into furious, but also because of the covers. 

11. Totally should’ve stopped at book one     

I'm sorry, Maggie Stiefvater, but The Wolves of Mercy Falls was not my cup of tea. I think she is a great writer, but I just could not get into the characters or the plot of this book, and then she wrote THREE MORE! This was just a no, from me. 







 I hope y'all enjoyed this! 

xx
Caroline   

the loose ends list: stardust arc reviews

The Loose Ends List
Carrie Firestone

☆☆☆☆☆

goodreads/b&n/amazon

Seventeen-year-old Maddie O'Neill Levine lives a charmed life, and is primed to spend the perfect pre-college summer with her best friends and young-at-heart socialite grandmother (also Maddie's closest confidante), tying up high school loose ends. Maddie's plans change the instant Gram announces that she is terminally ill and has booked the family on a secret "death with dignity" cruise ship so that she can leave the world in her own unconventional way - and give the O'Neill clan an unforgettable summer of dreams-come-true in the process.

Soon, Maddie is on the trip of a lifetime with her over-the-top family. As they travel the globe, Maddie bonds with other passengers and falls for Enzo, who is processing his own grief. But despite the laughter, headiness of first love, and excitement of glamorous destinations, Maddie knows she is on the brink of losing Gram. She struggles to find the strength to say good-bye in a whirlwind summer shaped by love, loss, and the power of forgiveness.




full review under the cut!

waiting on wednesday: the rose & the dagger

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

This week's pick: The Rose & The Dagger
Renée Ahdieh

release date: April 26

(spoilers for book 1) The much anticipated sequel to the breathtaking The Wrath and the Dawn, lauded by Publishers Weekly as "a potent page-turner of intrigue and romance."
I am surrounded on all sides by a desert. A guest, in a prison of sand and sun. My family is here. And I do not know whom I can trust.
In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad has been torn from the love of her husband Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once believed him a monster, but his secrets revealed a man tormented by guilt and a powerful curse—one that might keep them apart forever. Reunited with her family, who have taken refuge with enemies of Khalid, and Tariq, her childhood sweetheart, she should be happy. But Tariq now commands forces set on destroying Khalid's empire. Shahrzad is almost a prisoner caught between loyalties to people she loves. But she refuses to be a pawn and devises a plan.

While her father, Jahandar, continues to play with magical forces he doesn't yet understand, Shahrzad tries to uncover powers that may lie dormant within her. With the help of a tattered old carpet and a tempestuous but sage young man, Shahrzad will attempt to break the curse and reunite with her one true love.


~~~

THIS BOOK IS COMING OUT SO SOON!!!! I am literally dancing about as I type this because I cannot wait to see what's next for Shazi and Khalid. The Wrath and the Dawn was one of my favorite books of 2015, so I can only gope that the sequel will be just as amazing :)

what are you waiting on this week?

xx
Caroline

uprooted: stardust reviews

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

☆☆☆☆

goodreads/b&n/amazon

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose. 


full review under the cut!

top ten tuesday: books to make you laugh

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish! This week's theme is: "April 19: Ten Books That Will Make You Laugh (or at least chuckle)" I don't know that I choose books based on whether they might make me laugh, but I do enjoy humorous moments, especially when they're peppered throughout the novel.
So here's my list of books that might be serious but have funny moments throughout!

1. Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

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.

2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse—Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena—Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

 

3. Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat

no description for this because of spoiler reasons... but this book made me LOL at many different points

4. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Will Grayson meets Will Grayson. One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers are about to cross paths. From that moment on, their world will collide and lives intertwine.

It's not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old - including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire - Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most awesome high school musical.
 

5. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?

6. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.
 

7. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.

Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.
 

8. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

The graphic novel debut from rising star Noelle Stevenson, based on her beloved and critically acclaimed web comic, which Slate awarded its Cartoonist Studio Prize, calling it "a deadpan epic."

Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from Noelle Stevenson. Featuring an exclusive epilogue not seen in the web comic, along with bonus conceptual sketches and revised pages throughout, this gorgeous full-color graphic novel is perfect for the legions of fans of the web comic and is sure to win Noelle many new ones.

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

what is on your lists this week?

xx
Caroline

waiting on wednesday: the star-touched queen

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

This week's pick: The Star-Touched Queen
by Roshani Chokshi

release date: April 26 by St. Martin's Griffin

blurb: Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds friendship and warmth.

But Akaran has its own secrets - thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran's magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar's plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk - it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.

Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.

Inspired by Indian mythology.

~~~
Now, this sounds absolutely incredible, and also absolutely different from anything that is out right now. I can't wait to dive into this world, "inspired by Indian mythology" has me super pumped, and so do all of the glowing reviews I've seen about this one! 

What's your pick this week?

xx
Caroline

double down: stardust arc reviews

Double Down (Lois Lane #2)
Gwenda Bond

☆☆☆☆

release date: May 1

goodreads/b&n/amazon

(spoilers for Fallout, book 1)
Lois Lane has settled in to her new school. She has friends, for maybe the first time in her life. She has a job that challenges her. And her friendship is growing with SmallvilleGuy, her online maybe-more-than-a-friend. But when her friend Maddy's twin collapses in a part of town she never should've been in, Lois finds herself embroiled in adangerous mystery that brings her closer to the dirty underbelly of Metropolis."


full review under the cut!!

top ten tuesday: books for mythology nerds

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is: "April 12: Ten Books Every X Should Read (up to you! Examples: every history nerd, memoir lover, ballet lover, feminist, college student, etc etc.)" I chose to do my list for people who love mythology of all sorts– Greek/Roman, Egyptian, Norse, Indian, etc – because I am obsessed with mythology myself, always have been!

1. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series– Rick Riordan 

Okay, I'm just going to go ahead and cover my bases here with the Rick Riordan series. Riordan is technically middle grade, but read one of his books without cracking up and then get back to me on that label. Percy is the OG demigod up in here: he's a bamf, even when he's like 12. This series has five books. If you haven't read it already... literally where have you been? One of my all time favorites EVER. 

2. The Heroes of Olympus Series – Rick Riordan

Just when you THINK you're done with Percy... NOPE. Uncle Rick gave us this beautiful and amazing and expansive follow up series of five books which follows Percy and Annabeth and Nico and Grover and our fave gods, then gives us some incredible new characters as well. Five books in this one also, a close runner up to the first series. 

3. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Series– Rick Riordan

 This is Riordan's most recent addition to his canon of mythology, this one following Norse gods and demigods instead of the Greek/Roman/Egyptian ones that he has explored in the past. There is only one book out currently, with the second, The Hammer of Thor, coming out later this year. Though I did not fall directly in love with this one quite like I did with the Greek and Roman series, it was still AWESOME and hilarious, in true Riordan fashion. 

4. The Covenant Series– Jennifer L. Armentrout 

More Greeks, more demigods here, but YA instead of MG this time. This series is very similar to the Vampire Academy series, but I honestly love them both. I read Covenant before VA, and I seriously fell head over heels in love with the characters. Five books in this series, mythology less directly involved, more implied and effused. 

5. The Song of Achilles– Madeline Miller

The story of Achilles and Patroclus, from the time that they meet as youths, until both of their untimely demises in the Trojan war. (that's not a spoiler, it's literal, mythological fact) Sweet, adorable, cute, stabby... what more could you want? Patroclus is a cinnamon roll, too good, too pure for this world. Achilles is a sinnamon roll. This is all we need to know. 

 

6. The Chaos of Stars – Kiersten White 

Hello, Egyptian mythology! Welcome, take a seat here with your Greek and Norse counterparts. This is a standalone novel where the main character is the daughter of Isis, Egyptian goddess of marriage and many other things. This book is super romantic, and honestly pretty short, but definitely one of my faves. It could be a quick beach read for you this summer! 

7. Cruel Beauty – Rosamund Hodge

 I don't know if I'm cheating here, because honestly this isn't *about* Greek mythology, specifically. It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. BUT! It is super interesting and different because there are elements of Greek and Roman culture woven into the tapestry of this fairy tale retelling. It is a lot more subtle than the rest of the books on this list, but it's beautiful and captivating, so I included it.

8. The Wrath and the Dawn – Renée Ahdieh

 Also don't know if this one is cheating... but I don't really care, because it feels like it belongs here, to me. This book is a retelling of 1001 Nights, which, in itself, is a little hazy over whether it is classified as a "classic book," a "legend," or a "myth." I like to think of it as a Middle Eastern, Persian myth, and this book has other elements of that culture as well. Gorgeous, gorgeous writing, beautiful characters, engaging plot. LOVE it. 

9. The Grisha Trilogy – Leigh Bardugo 

Though this is set entirely in a fantastical world called Ravka, there are definite influences of Russian culture upon it. There are also echoes of Russian myths, such as that of the Firebird, so if you're looking for something with definite allusions to Russian folklore, this is your book. Also, just a kickass series all around.

10. The Raven Boys Series – Maggie Stiefvater 

Here we come to the last book on our list, which includes some elements of Welsh mythology! Something new and different for us. I know there is like a cult following for this series, but I'm totally not caught up yet, I haven't read Blue Lily, Lily Blue yet!!! So no spoilers. I'm waiting til I get my hands on The Raven King to finish this series. 

I hope you enjoyed this list :) link me to your posts this week!

xx

Caroline

enter title here: stardust arc reviews

Enter Title Here
Rahul Kanakia

release date: August 2

☆☆☆

goodreads/b&n/amazon

Reshma is a college counselor’s dream. She’s the top-ranked senior at her ultra-competitive Silicon Valley high school, with a spotless academic record and a long roster of extracurriculars. But there are plenty of perfect students in the country, and if Reshma wants to get into Stanford, and into med school after that, she needs the hook to beat them all.

What's a habitual over-achiever to do? Land herself a literary agent, of course. Which is exactly what Reshma does after agent Linda Montrose spots an article she wrote for Huffington Post. Linda wants to represent Reshma, and, with her new agent's help scoring a book deal, Reshma knows she’ll finally have the key to Stanford.

But she’s convinced no one would want to read a novel about a study machine like her. To make herself a more relatable protagonist, she must start doing all the regular American girl stuff she normally ignores. For starters, she has to make a friend, then get a boyfriend. And she's already planned the perfect ending: after struggling for three hundred pages with her own perfectionism, Reshma will learn that meaningful relationships can be more important than success—a character arc librarians and critics alike will enjoy.

Of course, even with a mastermind like Reshma in charge, things can’t always go as planned. And when the valedictorian spot begins to slip from her grasp, she’ll have to decide just how far she’ll go for that satisfying ending. (Note: It’s pretty far.)

full review under the cut! 

when we collided: stardust reviews

When We Collided
Emery Lord

☆☆☆☆☆

goodreads/b&n/amazon

We are seventeen and shattered and still dancing. We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know…

Jonah never thought a girl like Vivi would come along.

Vivi didn’t know Jonah would light up her world.

Neither of them expected a summer like this…a summer that would rewrite their futures.

In an unflinching story about new love, old wounds, and forces beyond our control, two teens find that when you collide with the right person at just the right time, it will change you forever. 

full review under the cut!

waiting on wednesday: the land of 10,000 madonnas

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

This week's pick: The Land of 10,000 Madonnas by Kate Hattemer

release date: April 19th from Knopf

blurb: 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.



~~~
First things to know about me. I love books and I love traveling. When you do something so wonderfully brilliant as put them together, I am going to love you forever. I think that this book sounds absolutely incredible, heartwarming as well as heartbreaking, and with the backdrop of Europe, it is super high on my TBR for April. 

what did you pick this week?

xx
Caroline

recent cover reveals pt. 2

So I did something like this in late February, but a few really awesome covers have come out recently, so I am super excited to put them all in a post for y'all! Let me know which ones of these you're looking forward to as well.

1. The Sun is Also A Star – Nicola Yoon
release date: November 1

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
 

2. Glitter – Aprilynne Pike
release date: October 25

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike comes a truly original new novel—Breaking Bad meets Marie Antoinette in a near-future world where the residents of Versailles live like it’s the eighteenth century and an almost-queen turns to drug dealing to save her own life.

Outside the palace of Versailles, it’s modern day. Inside, the people dress, eat, and act like it’s the eighteenth century—with the added bonus of technology to make court life lavish, privileged, and frivolous. The palace has every indulgence, but for one pretty young thing, it’s about to become a very beautiful prison.
When Danica witnesses an act of murder by the young king, her mother makes a cruel power play . . . blackmailing the king into making Dani his queen. When she turns eighteen, Dani will marry the most ruthless and dangerous man of the court. She has six months to escape her terrifying destiny. Six months to raise enough money to disappear into the real world beyond the palace gates.
Her ticket out? Glitter. A drug so powerful that a tiny pinch mixed into a pot of rouge or lip gloss can make the wearer hopelessly addicted. Addicted to a drug Dani can sell for more money than she ever dreamed.
But in Versailles, secrets are impossible to keep. And the most dangerous secret—falling for a drug dealer outside the palace walls—is one risk she has to take.
 

3. Strange the Dreamer – Laini Taylor
release date: September 27

Strange the Dreamer is the story of:

the aftermath of a war between gods and men
a mysterious city stripped of its name
a mythic hero with blood on his hands
a young librarian with a singular dream
a girl every bit as perilous as she is imperiled
alchemy and blood candy, nightmares and godspawn, moths and monsters, friendship and treachery, love and carnage.

Welcome to Weep.

 

 

 

 

4. The Author's Odyssey – Chris Colfer
release date: July

The fifth book in The Land of Stories Series

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Illustrated – Jim Kay

release date: October 4

Harry, Ron and Hermione have returned to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their second year. Soon the threesome are immersed in the daily round of classes. But then horrible things start happening. Harry hears evil voices. Sinister messages appear on the wall. Nothing can prepare the three friends for what happens next…











ahhh! i love a good cover :)

xx
Caroline