Waiting on Wednesday #70: Windwitch by Susan Dennard December 7, 2016

“Waiting on Wednesday” is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine. It showcases upcoming releases we’re anticipating!

My pick of the week is:

Windwitch (The Witchlands #2)

By: Susan Dennard

Coming: 3 January 2017

Publisher: Tor Teen

Summary:

The follow-up to New York Times bestselling Truthwitch, next in a breathtaking YA fantasy series hailed by Alexandra Bracken as “a world you will want to inhabit forever.”

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery,” a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In this follow-up to New York Times bestselling Truthwitch, a shadow man haunts the Nubrevnan streets, leaving corpses in his wake—and then raising those corpses from the dead. Windwitch continues the tale of Merik—cunning privateer, prince, and windwitch.

Why I’m excited:

I’m really intrigued by this new series by Susan Dennard. I haven’t read anything by her yet, but I think the first two books of The Witchlands series will be amazing.

Why I need you to be excited:

I’ve heard great things about Truthwitch and can’t wait to read it and the sequel!

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Waiting on Wednesday #60: Midnight Star by Marie Lu September 28, 2016

“Waiting on Wednesday” is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine. It showcases upcoming releases we’re anticipating!

My pick of the week is:

Midnight Star (Young Elites #3)

By: Marie Lu

Coming: 11 October 2016

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Summary:

The thrilling finale to the New York Times bestselling Young Elites series from “hit factory” Marie Lu.

There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.

Adelina Amouteru is done suffering. She’s turned her back on those who have betrayed her and achieved the ultimate revenge: victory. Her reign as the White Wolf has been a triumphant one, but with each conquest her cruelty only grows. The darkness within her has begun to spiral out of control, threatening to destroy all that she’s achieved.

Adelina’s forced to revisit old wounds when a new danger appears, putting not only Adelina at risk, but every Elite and the very world they live in. In order to save herself and preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

Bestselling author Marie Lu concludes Adelina’s story with this haunting and hypnotizing final installment to the Young Elites series.

Why I’m excited:

I really enjoyed The Young Elites and I’m excited to see how this series ends. I decided to wait and read The Rose Society at the same time I read The Midnight Star.

Why I need you to be excited:

Marie Lu is a great author! It’s also intriguing that Adelina is an antihero/villain!

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Hello August, Goodbye July! August 1, 2016

I seriously cannot believe that it’s August. I’m hardcore in denial. Where is 2016 going?! July was a pretty action packed month, but also brought quite a bit of reading a long with it, so it was all good! Definitely made up for the horrendous reading month of June haha. Not really all that much coming up in August now, other than Punk and I head back to school. I do have two giveaways going on here and here! Don’t forget about those! How’s your summer been? Have you read anything good?

Books I read July (In order of completion)

A Real Work of Art by Gwenda Bond

Cloudy With a Chance of Destruction by Gwenda Bond

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

The Last Star by Rick Yancey

 

Coming Up in August

Punk starting KINDERGARTEN

Kiddos starting regular dance classes and both potentially doing soccer too!

Starting another semester & working towards my degree

Bristol Night Race!!

OTSP Secret Sister Round 5 starting

 

Goals for August

Juggle mama life, student life, and blogging life!

Write some reviews and more posts

Stay ahead on blogging

 

August Releases I’m Excited For

Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

 

 

August TBR

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Lois Lane Fallout by Gwenda Bond

 

 

 

2016 Reading Challenge (completed in bold)

A book based on a fairy tale: The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

A National Book Award Winner

A YA Bestseller: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

A book you haven’t read since high school

A book set in your home state

A book translated to English: Dream of the Rood by Cynewulf

A romance set in the future: Their Fractured Light by Aime Kaufman and Megan Spooner

A book set in Europe: The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory

A book that’s under 150 pages: The Hidden Prince by Jodi Meadows

A New York Times Bestseller: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

A book that’s becoming a movie this year

A book recommended by someone you just met

A self-improvement book

A book you can finish in a day: Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir

A book written by a celebrity

A political memoir: Memoir of Marguerite de Valois by Marguerite de Valois

A book at least 100 years older than you: Beowulf by Unknown

A book that’s more than 600 pages: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

A book from Oprah’s Book Club

A science-fiction novel

A book recommended by a family member

A graphic novel

A book that is published in 2016: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

A book with a protagonist who has your occupation: American Wife by Taya Kyle

A book that takes place during summer

A book and its prequel: The Winner’s Curse & Bridge of Snow by Marie Rutkoski

A murder mystery

A book written by a comedian

A dystopian novel: The Last Star by Rick Yancey

A book with a blue cover: My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins et al

A book of poetry: Holy Sonnets by John Donne

The first book you see in a bookstore

A classic from the 20th century

A book from the library

An autobiography: The History of the Bloody Massacres of the Protestants in the Year of Our Lord, 1572 by Jacques Auguste de Thou

A book about a road trip

A book about a culture you’re unfamiliar with: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

A satirical book

A book that takes place on an island: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

A book that’s guaranteed to bring you joy

Required Summer Reading & Giveaway July 14, 2016

Honesty moment: I HATE required readings. I despise being told what I have to read. I think the only thing in school that I actually read when I was SUPPOSED to read it was my senior year readings. And I didn’t even read all of them! haha. Most things I knew I would have to read a grade or so ahead of time and would read them early. I was big into fanfiction in junior high and high school. I read one about Lily and James during Hogwarts and they did an international magical acting competition. Hogwarts did The Crucible. Enough of it was thrown into the story that I wanted to read the whole play. Eight grade me begged my dad to take me to Barnes & Noble to go pick it up so I could read the whole thing. I did. Not sure if it was over a break or what and my eighth grade English teacher asked if we’d read anything interesting lately. I said The Crucible. She asked if I understood the historical background and all that. (Not only the Salem Witch Trials, but the communism hunt) I did. She was impressed and said a lot of high school juniors didn’t understand it. My thought? They’re idiots! Anyway. That’s one example of one I read beforehand. Others I knew enough about that I could fake my way through it.

Punk is going into kindergarten. He has a required reading list for the summer. Seriously. I was like….. wut? Anyway. While looking at it, I came up with the thought of wondering if I could match YA/MG/Adult books to his list. His are all topics so you could match children’s books to it. I have to admit, this was much easier than I expected except for one topic! Anyway. The topics are Bears, Friends, ABC, Frogs, Fairytales, Ocean Animals, Pets, and Free Choice (this one had me spazzing for a minute until I realised it was whatever book Punk wanted, not literally about free choice!)

Here’s my required summer reading list based off of Punk’s kindergarten list.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Bears: This was literally the first book that popped into my head. Probably due to me having just finished it when I had this idea. A big theme throughout the book is Sammy’s bear.

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Friends: Again, literally the first book I thought of. Reagan and Lilah’s friendship is amazing as is this book. Emery Lord has such an incredible way with words! *sings Emery’s praises for days*

 

ABC: This was the one that gave me a the most trouble. I initially thought to leave it at All Fall Down since it’s a children’s rhyme. Then I decided to do books with an A, B, and C in the title. I do have to admit, I haven’t read two of the three of these! I absolutely adore Code Name Verity though. It ripped me to shreds in all the right ways.

All Fall Down by Ally Carter

The Body Electric by Beth Revis

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin

Frogs: Okay, admittedly harder than the others, I finally came up with this one. I remembered the bannerman’s kids who come to join Bran as being from the swamp like area. And I’m pretty sure the boy was good at catching frogs. Or their sigil is a frog. Or something. Anyway. Swamp = froggy in my mind!

The Hunter’s Moon by OR Melling

Fairytale: Yes, it was incredibly easy to jump to the Cinder conclusion, but I opted to go for a lesser known fairytale series. Woot for Celtic mythology!

Waterfell by Amalie Howard

Ocean Animals: Obviously I would go for Waterfell! Though it also deals with animals, it talks about the Marianas Trench and various animals in the ocean. Win.

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

Pets: Pandoras count as pets, right? I mean, they’re pets in a way. At least companions, and let’s face it, cats are not pets. They’re companions at best and definitely supreme overlords.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Free Choice:  Okay, so this one totally fits my initial thought of Free Choice. Feyre is faced with the choice of death or living in Prythian. She’s free to choose. Ha! This also fits free choice as in whatever I want to pick so I went with what I’m currently reading. Double win!

 

Thanks for making it through my post! Also, thank you for three wonderful (crazy) years of blogging. My blogging anniversary was actually on the 9th, but it snuck up on me and I forgot to write up a post. It’s definitely been a rollercoaster ride! Anyway, to celebrate my blogiversary, I have several giveaways I’m going to be hosting in the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled! Up first is a giveaway for any book I have reviewed in the last three years. But! There’s more! I have a list of upcoming reviews that will be posted and those books will be included too. Check out my Reviews tab for a full list of books! Right now there will be one winner, but I might add more winners, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for that too.

Giveaway!

This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL (and only open to the countries where Book Depository delivers to) Entrants must be at least  13 years old to enter. Those entrants under 18 MUST have parental consent. Giveaway is open July 14th 2016 (12am EST) through August 20th 2016 (12am EST). No giveaway accounts. I reserve the right to disqualify entries in violation of my giveaway policies (Please see my Site Polices for full polices). All entries WILL be verified. Winner(s) have 48 (FORTY-EIGHT) hours to respond to email/tweet. Good luck. May the odds be ever in your favor! (:

 

 

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Top Ten Tuesday #91: Mid-Late 2016 Anticipated Releases June 14, 2016

Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Mid-Late 2016 Anticipated Releases (AKA What I currently have preordered for the rest of the year)

1. Catalyst: A Rogue One Story. I don’t know anything about it other than it plays into the new Star Wars movie. I preordered it on faith. Hoping it won’t disappoint!

2. Gemina by Aime Kaufman & Jay Kristoff. Honestly, I still haven’t gotten to Illuminae, but I went ahead and preordered this on faith (plus to make the casualty list!) The idea of being written in file/report format fascinates me. I’ve just decided to wait til closer to October to binge both of the books.

3. Iron Man: The Gauntlet by Eoin Colfer. I have to be honest again. I would MUCH rather one of my favourite authors be writing about Captain America or the Winter Soldier, but I am pretty excited for this book!

4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them The Original Screenplay by JK Rowling. Seriously? Have you seen my Harry Potter collection? Did you honestly think this wouldn’t make the list? I can’t wait for the movie!

5. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, John Tiffany, & Jack Thorne. Surrounded by controversy to be sure. I’m in #TeamCanon. I fully take this as 100% continuation of the Harry Potter story. Yes, I’m disappointed I can’t make it to London to see it this summer, but they’re releasing the screenplay AND it will most likely tour/expand. I’m excited. I would also love to see this come out on video. #KeeptheSecrets

6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling (Illustrated edition). Wow. In 2007, I could have only dreamed that there would be THREE new Harry Potter books in one year. YES! Chamber of Secrets was my least favourite in the series, but I’m super excited to see the illustrations!

7. Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas. I definitely have this preordered, but since I will have to reread the whole series to be ready, I’m kinda thinking I’ll wait on reading until the final book comes out. With so many incredible things to read, re-reads get harder and harder to work in with multiple books!

8. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I absolutely love the Grishaverse. I haven’t read Six of Crows yet cause I decided that I would preorder and then binge the duology together. Same reasons as above with Empire of Storms! I know they’re companion series, but I like the refresher!

9. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. Let’s face it. She writes it, I read and buy it. (: The plot for this one sounds incredible. I only wish it would be out BEFORE I head to my first beach trip this summer. Ah, well. It’ll be a great thing to come home to though!

10. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir. I’m actually currently reading this ARC thanks to Mary. It’s great so far and I’m pleased with my decision to preorder the first day it was up! I adored An Ember in the Ashes. It was easily a favourite of 2015! I’m excited to see where Elias an Laia’s story goes.

 

*Blog Tour & Giveaway* Spotlight Feature: Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch October 9, 2015

About the Book:
Title: ICE LIKE FIRE
Author: Sara Raasch
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Pages: 479
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
It’s been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra, disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell.
Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm’s secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves?
Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Januari—leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats?
As the web of power and deception weaves tighter, Theron fights for magic, Mather fights for freedom—and Meira starts to wonder if she should be fighting not just for Winter, but for the world.

~*~ ALSO BY SARA RAASCH~*~ See my review of Snow Like Ashes

About the Book:
Title: SNOW LIKE ASHES
Author: Sara Raasch
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Pages: 432
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.
Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

About Sara:
Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then — her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, came out October 14, 2014 from Balzer + Bray, and the sequel, ICE LIKE FIRE, comes out October 13, 2015. Neither features her hand-drawn pictures.

Website | Twitter |Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | | | Amazon | Reedsy | Wattpad

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive sets of ICE LIKE FIRE Trading Cards/Miniature Bookmarks. International.

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:
10/5/2015- A Dream Within A Dream– Review
10/6/2015- Mundie Moms– Interview
10/7/2015- Such a Novel Idea– Review
10/8/2015- Dark Faerie Tales– Guest Post
10/9/2015- The Whimsical Mama– Spotlight

Week Two:
10/12/2015- Two Chicks on Books– Interview
10/13/2015- Bookish Lifestyle– Review
10/14/2015- Supernatural Snark– Guest Post
10/15/2015- Fiktshun– Review
10/16/2015- Once Upon a Twilight– Interview

Top Ten Tuesday #90: If You Like Underrated Fantasy Books, Try These September 29, 2015

Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Underrated Fantasy Books to Try

I’m all about some fantasy, and these are some of my favourite underrated reads.

affiliate links used

1. Dark Metropolis by Jaclyn Dolamore

2. Waterfell by Amalie Howard

3. Chronicles of Faerie by OR Melling

4. The Falconer by Elizabeth May

5. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

6. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

7. Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White

8. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

9. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

10. Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Top Ten Tuesday #89: Fall 2015 TBR September 22, 2015

Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR

Here’s what I’ve selected on previous TBR lists: Winter 2013 6/10 Fall2013 3/10 Spring TBR 2014 6/11  Summer 2014 3/10 Fall 2014 2/10 Winter 2014 6/10 Spring 2015 5/10 Summer 2015 6/10

affiliate links used

1. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
2. The Rose Society by Marie Lu
3. The White Rose by Amy Ewing
4. Winter by Marissa Meyer
5. The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows
6. The Fulfillment by Erin Rhew
7. Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch
8. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
9. The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory
10. The Fiery Trial by Cassandra ClareI’m super excited about my fall reads! I’m a big mood reader, but I have some rereading planning to do. Here’s hoping for my first 10/10! What are you reading this fall? What are some of your most anticipated fall releases?

Top Ten Tuesday #81: Hyped Books I’ve Never Read July 7, 2015

Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Hyped Books I’ve Never Read

affiliate links used

1. Sabriel (Old Kingdom)
2. Dreams of Gods & Monsters
3. The Assassin’s Blade: The Throne of Glass Novellas
4. The Raven Boys
5. Wolf Hall
6. The Queen of the Tearling: A Novel (Queen of the Tearling, The)
7. Uprooted
8. The Girl on the Train
9. A Great and Terrible Beauty (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy)
10. Anna and the French Kiss

Please Be Kind, Rewind: 17 – 30 May 2015 May 30, 2015

More good reading weeks! We also got to spend some time with hubby’s family Memorial Day weekend. One of his cousins got married and we traveled to Knoxville to celebrate. It was an absolute blast and we wish them many years of happiness! ❤ I’m buckling down and getting caught up on blog work. I would like to get far enough ahead that I only have to sit down maybe once a week or so to work on the blog. I’m going to take it slow again this summer, but I’m also sticking to my schedule. Hoping if I can get enough work done in the next two weeks, I’ll be ready! Hubby’s military schedule is all shades of crazy this summer, so it’ll mostly be me and the kiddos on our own. Sucks, but it is what it is.

 affiliate links used below

Completed:

The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

The Goddess Legacy by Aimee Carter

The Heir by Kiera Cass

A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab

Nothing but Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Currently Reading:

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick

New to My Shelf:
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
Twerp by Mark Goldblatt
Finding the Worm by Mark Goldblatt(Both Goldblatt books were sent by Cassie McGinty for a review! I haven’t decided if the reviews will go up here or on Voyages of the Backyard Explorers yet! Maybe BOTH! haha)

From Mary: (She’s the bestest best friend ever)

A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefanoARC (My TBR may just fly out the window for this one! <3)
Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth WeinARC
The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski(She surprised me with a finished copy! Also got my ARC signed <3)
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell(Take THAT USPS! I STILL HAVE IT!)

Trades: (Thanks, SO MUCH!)

Brazen by Katherine Longshore
Mortal Heart by Robin LaFeversARC
Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne BlankmanARC
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Kiss of Broken Glass by Madeleine KuderickARC
The Fall by Bethany GriffinARC
Doll Bones by Holly BlackARC
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
All Fall Down by Ally CarterARC
The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan
A Cold Legacy by Megan ShepherdARC (My collection is complete now!)
Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
These Broken Stars by Aime Kaufman & Megan SpoonerARC
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Clariel by Garth NixARC