“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:
By: Ameriie
Coming: July 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Summary:
Why I’m excited:
Why I need you to be excited:
“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:
A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3)
By: VE Schwab, Victoria Schwab
Coming: 21 February 2017
Publisher: Tor Books
Summary:
The battle between four magical Londons comes to a head in this stunning finale to the New York Times bestselling Shades of Magic trilogy by rising star V. E. Schwab
Londons fall and kingdoms rise while darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire—and the fraught balance of magic blossoms into dangerous territory while heroes and foes struggle alike. The direct sequel to A Gathering of Shadows, and the final book in the Shades of Magic epic fantasy series, A Conjuring of Light sees Schwab reach a thrilling culmination concerning the fate of beloved protagonists—and old enemies.
“Addictive and immersive, A Gathering of Shadows cements this series as a must-read. Rich details illuminate every dimension of an extravagant city flooded with magic, and intriguing personalities evolve into complex characters. …Schwab already has us anticipating the rest of the series.”–Entertainment Weekly, A
“[A Darker Shade of Magic] feels like a priceless object, brought from another, better world of fantasy books. Schwab’s writing is engaging and vivid…kept me engrossed by its story every bit as much as I was fascinated by its complex, multilayered world.”—io9.com
“Has all the hallmarks of a classic work of fantasy…Schwab has given us a gem of a tale. This is a book to treasure.”—Deborah Harkness, New York Times bestselling author of The All Souls trilogy on A Darker Shade of Magic
Why I’m excited:
I am absolutely addicted to this series. I cannot wait to see how things go down. I heard A Gathering of Shadows ended on an epic cliffhanger, so I have waited until A Conjuring of Light comes out to binge the last two. This tale of alternate Londons is fan-freaking-tastic!
Why I need you to be excited:
Victoria Schwab is amazing. If you haven’t read her books yet, you are seriously missing out!
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 Top Ten Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do or Learn About After Reading Them
2. Quidditch. True Harry Potter Quidditch. While the Muggle Quidditch looks entertaining, I would much rather play real Quidditch! Harry Potter by JK Rowling
3. Epic Road Trip with Friends. I’ve gone on tons of road trips and tons of band trips, but I would love to go on a road trip with friends that doesn’t involve a school bus! Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
4. Help a soldier/servicemember with PTSD. My step-dad has PTSD and my husband is in the service. PTSD is close to my heart and I think more awareness needs to be raised. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
5. Explore Prague. I would absolutely love to go to Prague! Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
6. Travel to different Londons. I love our London (Grey London). It would be fascinating to explore the other Londons too. Even if they are fantasy! A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab.
7. Find Glendower. Not with the intention of obtaining a wish, but just to find him. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater.
8. Explore Paris. I would love to go back to Paris. I would get on a plane in a heartbeat. Die for Me by Amy Plum
9. Learn the violin. Well, this made me want to learn more. I’ve wanted to learn how to play the violin for ages. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.
10. Do marching band again. Oh, heavens do I miss marching band! Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols.
What are some things books have left you wanting to learn or do?
June started out to be a very promising reading month, and then turned out to be a bust haha. Hubs was gone to annual training for two weeks so I ended up staying at our office the full day every day which obviously, cut into home reading time. Though I had slow days, it was much easier to get some blog work done and stop in the middle of a post than stop in the middle of a good reading part. I could’ve done audiobooks since my mom was keeping the kids, but I ended up binge rewatching Reign and Agents of SHIELD. haha. We have a few vacations coming up in July and that will lead to lots of time in the car, so I should have a much better reading amount! I hope your June went well and have lots of exciting things coming up in July. We’ll be heading north for hubby’s sister’s wedding and the kids & I are heading to the beach with my mom and step-dad this month too! Good times for sure.
Books I read June (In order of completion)
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Coming Up in July
My sister-in-law’s wedding
Bug being a flower girl
VA trip
Beach trip
Goals for July
RELAX
Juggle mama life and blogging life!
Write some reviews and posts
Try to get ahead and stay ahead on blogging
July Releases I’m Excited For
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
DC SuperHero Girls
Magic Tree House: Night of the Ninth Dragon
July TBR
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
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 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
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 book that’s guaranteed to bring you joy
“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:
This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1)
By: Victoria Schwab
Coming: 5 July 2016
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Summary:
There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.
Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.
Why I’m excited:
Victoria Schwab has secured her place on my automatic preorder/buy list, so it’s not surprising to find This Savage Song on my Waiting on Wednesday list. I’ve been intrigued by this book since Victoria started tweeting about her mysterious monster book. I’m always a glutton for a good fantasy, and it definitely sounds like This Savage Song will not disappoint!
Why I need you to be excited:
Victoria Schwab has proven time and again that she is a fantastic wordsmith. I’m super excited at the dawning of a new series by her and I think you should be too! I think this will be a very interesting book considering the world we live in where tragedies seem to be becoming a daily occurrence and it really feels like there are monsters all around us.
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 Summer TBR
Here’s what I’ve selected on previous TBR lists: Winter 2013 6/10 Fall 2013 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 Fall 2015 6/10
This week is actually a freebie, but I decided I would share my Summer TBR since I haven’t shared one since back in the fall. Here’s hoping for a 10/10!
2. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
3. The Last Star by Rick Yancey
4. Lois Lane Fallout by Gwenda Bond
5. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
6. And I Darken by Kiersten White
7. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
8. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne, & John Tiffany
9. DC SuperHero Girls: Finals Crisis by Shea Fontana
What are you planning on reading this summer?
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 (More like six so far) Favourite 2016 Releases
2. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi. Standalone fantasy!
3. The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski. Finale of The Winner’s Curse trilogy.
4. When We Collided by Emery Lord. Contemporary standalone.
5. The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows. Finale of The Orphan Queen duology.
6. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir. Finale of An Ember in the Ashes duology. Currently reading or recently finished.
I haven’t read them yet, but I know I will enjoy these 2016 releases!
7. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas. Sequel to A Court of Thorns and Roses.
8. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows. I’m SO excited about this one! I know it’s gonna be great!
9. The Last Star by Rick Yancey. The final book in The 5th Wave trilogy. I adored The 5th Wave, and I can’t wait to read the other two books! I think this will be what I take to the beach this year!
10. A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab. Sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic. I’ve heard through the grapevine that this ends on an EPIC cliffhanger, so I’m currently waiting until A Conjuring of Light comes out to read books two and three at the same time! I HATE cliffhangers!
What have been your favourite 2016 reads so far this year? What are you looking forward to for the rest of the year?
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)
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.
Not sure if I have ever done a bookshelf tour post before, but I thought I would do one today. My bookcases are currently stuffed to the gills and will probably be redone or added to in the coming year, but I thought I would give you a glimpse into my organisation. Keep in mind this is strictly my YA books. My children’s, middle grade, and adult bookcases are super hot messes. We recently attempted to reorganise my children’s bookcase, but there are so many that it is still super stuffed and messy haha. The kiddos also need a new bookcase, but hubby isn’t wanting to budge on more bookcases until we remodel downstairs. *sigh* Anyway! Welcome to my shelves!
The first two bookcases are actually small bookcases in my bedroom at the foot of my bed. They were empty for a while until I reorganised my books back in early spring. I decided to move favourite series and oversized books to these bookcases to free up some space on my main YA bookcase. It helped, for like a week until I reorganised that bookcase! haha. Left picture: Top shelf: JK Rowling/Robert Galbraith’s books and Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter books. Bottom shelf: Sarah J Maas, Melissa de la Cruz, and two of the Eragon books that wouldn’t fit anywhere else. Right picture: Top shelf: the rest of my Harry Potter collection. Companion guides and more foreign editions (German, Spanish, and French). Also Jodi Meadows collection. Still on the hunt for an Incarnate ARC if you can help a girl out! (This shelf is also precarious now. I went to put Mirror King on the bookshelf and it collapsed. I couldn’t find all of the pins to put the shelf back up! Not that the bookcase is in the best of shape anyway haha) Middle shelf (which is laying on the books on the bottom shelf!) is full of oversized books. I just kinda have them shoved on here for this picture because The 5th Wave trilogy is in my June TBR. Bottom shelf: A combo of oversized books and my Maggie Stiefvater collection. Ballad is also in th stack, but I just realised from this angle you can’t see it. Oops!
Now my main YA bookcase in our office/den. We have three big bookcases in our office/den. The first is my Adult/School books. The second is overflow adult with my middle grade collection. The third, above, is my YA. The fourth is the kiddos’ bookcase stuffed full with picture books. If you notice, there are books with flags on them. Those are all unread books. I finally gave up on keeping my TBR books from my read books separate, but wanted a system to ID unread books. This system is not completely foolproof. The kiddos like stealing my flags on books they can reach, like the Ruta Sepetys books in the last picture. Everything easily fit on my bookcase for maybe a month. I’ve been promised floor to ceiling bookcases in my office when we remodel, but I need more space now! I’m thinking I might pick up another bookcase soon. Not sure where I’ll put it yet though! haha. Most of these, excluding the majority of my Melissa de la Cruz, JK Rowling, and Stephenie Meyer books have been accrued in the last four or so years. The bulk coming in since right around when I started blogging. Pretty sure Hubs thinks I have a book hoarding problem. I do not think so!
Anyway, that’s my organisational system. All books on the YA case are alphabetical except a few that have been displaced, but I didn’t feel like completely overhauling my bookcase for one or two books. How do you organise your books? I love the idea of by colour, but I HAVE to have all of my books together by author haha. It bothers me if they’re not!
After another extended hiatus, I’ve decided I’m itching to get back to blogging. I’m not going to try to stick to a strict schedule right off the bat. Just kinda ease back into things. I am a stay at home mom and currently back in school to get my bachelor’s degree, so I’ll probably pop in and post every now and then. Try to get a few things scheduled ahead! Anyway, a quick recap of the end of 2015 and the start of 2016. October brought another birthday for me and Hallowe’en! I dressed up with the kiddos. I was Loki, Punk was Captain America, and Bug was her beloved Cinderella “Rella.” In November, my (ex)step-family lost a wonderful lady in my step-great-grandmother. She was truly a beautiful lady. Punk had a really hard time accepting that we lost my great-grandmother in July and then her in November. He wanted to know why we couldn’t go to Heaven and visit and why they couldn’t come back. It was a hard adjustment for him. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Northern Virginia with hubby’s family. It was a blast! It’s always a great time to get to go up and visit. I didn’t get to make it down to YALLFest, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to go this year. December brought a three week long military class for hubby. The kiddos had a pretty rough time with daddy gone. Poor Punk thought Daddy wouldn’t be home for Christmas. But! He was! And Christmas was fantastic. We celebrated Christmas at home this year and Santa was very good to the kiddos. Punk scored 13 different big boy Lego sets! He was in hog heaven! January brought a new chapter to my life. I (finally) started back taking classes to finish my bachelor’s degree in General Studies. All online classes, but it’s finally happening. February was rather uneventful. We’ve gotten some good snowfalls this year too! Now we’re up to March and I’m ready for spring (I think!)
A big thing that I want to change in getting back into blogging is that I’m not going to attempt to post every day and I’m also going to introduce a new feature. It’ll be called Friday Feasts and I’ll basically post a review of a meal we’ve done recently. We’re doing HelloFresh occasionally and I’ll definitely include those meals. AND if you’re interested, I do have a discount code if you’d like to try HelloFresh for yourself! Leave me a comment or shoot me a message on Twitter (@armywife2310)
Books I read October 2015 – February 2016 (In order of completion)
The Fiery Trial by Cassandra Clare
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
The Prophecy by Erin Rhew
The Outlanders by Erin Rhew
The Fulfillment by Erin Rhew
Born to Endless Night by Cassandra Clare
Angels Twice Descending by Cassandra Clare
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Winter by Marissa Meyer
Fairest by Marissa Meyer
This Night So Dark by Aime Kaufman and Megan Spooner
These Broken Stars by Aime Kaufman and Megan Spooner
This Shattered World by Aime Kaufman and Megan Spooner
The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm-boy by Alexandra Bracken
So You Want to Be a Jedi? by Adam Gidwitz
The Favourite by Kiera Cass
Beware the Power of the Dark Side by Tom Angleberger
Their Fractured Light by Aime Kaufman and Megan Spooner
My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins et al
The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Dream of the Rood by Cynewulf
Beowulf by Unknown
Coming Up in March
SEYA Festival in Murfreesboro!
Spring Break (mine)
Spring Break (Punk)
Bug’s birthday
Goals for March
Juggle student life, mama life, and blogging life!
Write some reviews and posts
Try to get ahead and stay ahead on blogging
March Releases I’m Excited For
Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
The Black Knife by Jodi Meadows
The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
March TBR
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
Mirror King by Jodi Meadows
The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
Books for class
2016 Reading Challenge (completed in bold)
A book based on a fairy tale
A National Book Award Winner
A YA Bestseller
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
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
A book written by a celebrity
A political memoir
A book at least 100 years older than you: Beowulf by Unknown
A book that’s more than 600 pages
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
A book with a protagonist who has your occupation
A book that takes place during summer
A book and its prequel
A murder mystery
A book written by a comedian
A dystopian novel
A book with a blue cover: My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins et al
A book of poetry
The first book you see in a bookstore
A classic from the 20th century
A book from the library
An autobiography
A book about a road trip
A book about a culture you’re unfamiliar with
A satirical book
A book that takes place on an island
A book that’s guaranteed to bring you joy
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
The Whimsical Mama 