January TBR

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! *throws confetti*

I don't have a huge TBR for this month, but there are a bunch of books releasing this month that I cannot wait to dive into, as well as a few ARCs and other books I need to catch up on.

1. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

TRUTHWITCH IS FINALLY HERE!!!!! *runs around the room screaming* OMG YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS BOOK... (Actually you probably do.) EXCUSE MY INTENSE FANGIRLING BUT I CANNOT CONTAIN MYSELF RIGHT NOW. *SQUEALS*

2. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

3. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

4. Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto (ARC)

5. Seven Black Diamonds by Melissa Marr (ARC)

6. Melophobia by James Morris (for review)

Endure (Review)

Endure by Sara B. Larson
Series: Defy trilogy #3
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardcover (purchased)

Date Read: December 29

About Endure (via Goodreads):

The remarkable third novel in Sara B. Larson's bestselling Defy series!

At last, Alexa and King Damian are engaged to be married. But their lives are far from safe. The kingdom of Antion is under siege, and Rylan is a prisoner of the enemy. Even worse, Alexa remains at the mercy of the evil Dansiian Rafe, who controls her mind and can force Alexa to kill or harm Damian at any moment. Despite this, Alexa is determined to rescue Rylan, which soon leads her far from Damian and deep into enemy territory.

When she arrives, what awaits her is deadlier than anything she could have ever imagined: an army of black sorcerers, and a horrifying plot to destroy the world as Alexa knows it. Will she be able to gather the strength to free herself, protect the love of her life, and save the land? Will there ever be true peace?

Acclaimed author Sara B. Larson has woven a stunning, romantic, and evocative finale to the Defy trilogy, that is sure to leave readers breathless until the very last page.

Endure was an epic conclusion to one of my favorite series. In fact, it's the first book I've read in a while that I wanted to (and had the time to) devour in one day. There was so much heartbreak and loss, and there were so many gruesome and bloody things going on throughout the book, but there were also so many brilliant and beautiful things happening in the book that it all seemed to balance out in the end.

It was so heart-wrenching to watch Alexa and Damian separated throughout most of the novel, but whenever they were together, it was incredible. I've always loved their chemistry, and their relationship in Endure grows even stronger. I guess the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" really is true. Or maybe the fact that black sorcerers are trying to kill them both makes their relationship stronger because there's such a high chance that they'll lose each other. Perhaps both. Either way, the romance, despite how little there was in the final book, was absolutely beautiful. The immense love they have for each other is to-die for, and their love made me cheer for them even more throughout the book. I JUST WANTED TO SEE THEM HAVE THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER THEY DESERVED, OKAY?!?!?

The characters went through so much, but still managed to stay strong and pull through to the very end. Unless they died, of course. Because whenever there's an epic final battle, people are bound to die. Since I read Ignite (book 2) exactly a year ago, I had trouble remembering who some of the characters were, so when some of the important secondary characters died, I didn't feel as emotional as I probably should have...  Despite this, it was still really upsetting to see how much blood was shed throughout the book, and I admit I did cry when one character died. I love this series though, so I'll probably binge read them and maybe feel a deeper emotional connection to those lost in the battle. Ultimately my limited emotions for these characters did not impact my thoughts on the book.

From start to finish, the book was action packed and an emotional rollercoaster. There was so much to lose for some characters, and so much to gain for others (i.e. the villains). Speaking of the villains, they were CRAZY. They were some of the sketchiest, maddest characters I've ever met in YA, and their thirst for power was frightening. It was so interesting to go into enemy territory for the first time, but it was also so disturbing and grotesque. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, hoping that the characters would escape before it was too late and the world as they knew it fell apart.

All in all, Endure was a satisfying conclusion to a wonderful series. There were fantastic fight scenes,  a swoony romance, and a fast-paced and intense plot -- everything I could have wanted. I highly recommend this series and am looking forward to reading more Sara B. Larson books in the (hopefully) near future.

✪✪✪✪

2016 Challenges

Confession: I am horrible at finishing reading challenges. Now that that's out of the way, here are the all challenges I hope to (but highly doubt I'll) complete this year. (Aren't I the optimistic one?) I'm hoping that by signing up for a lot of challenges, I'll be more likely to complete at least one. Or maybe that will completely backfire and I won't be able to complete any of them. I guess only time will tell.

Finishing the Series Challenge - hosted by Bea @ Bea's Book Nook, the goal of this challenge is to "complete a series from wherever you are up to until the last published book." I'm going to try for Level 2 (Testing the Waters). I only completed one series in 2015 (if you can believe it!), so finishing 2-4 series is a decent goal for 2016.

Flights of Fantasy - hosted by Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books and Rachel @ Hello, Chelly, the goal of this challenge is to read as many fantasy novels as you can/would like. Since fantasy was my most-read genre last year, I think this challenge will be fun and not too hard. I'm going to set my goal relatively high and say I want to read 15 fantasy novels this year.

Rock My TBR - hosted by Sarah @ The YA Book Traveler, the goal of this challenge is "to read a minimum of 1 book per month you already own (published book)." Since I have a lot of books I still haven't read yet sitting on my shelves, I figured this would be a good challenge, especially since I'd probably be reading a lot of them anyway.

Backlist Books Challenge - hosted by Bekka @ Pretty Deadly Reviews, the goal of this challenge is to read backlist books. "For these purposes, I’m counting backlist books as anything published a year or more before the day you read it. So if it’s January 21st, 2016, the book you’re reading must have been published on January 21st, 2015 or earlier."

Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge - this year, I want to challenge myself to read 75 books!

2015 End of the Year Survey

This survey is hosted by Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner, and it highlights your bookish and blogging year. I saw it on Rachel's blog (A Perfection Called Books) and thought it looked like a good way to wrap up the year.

~2015 Reading Stats~

Number of Books You Read: 54

Number of Re-Reads: 1

Genre You Read the Most From: fantasy

~Best in Books~

1. Best Book You Read in 2015?

Contemporary: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Fantasy: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Sci-Fi: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

2. Book You Were Excited About and Thought You Would Love But Didn't?

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard or To All The Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han (I didn't hate them, but I didn't like them as much as I thought I would)

3. Most Surprising (in a good or bad way) Book You Read?

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas or Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff—both in a good way!

4. Book You "Pushed" the Most People to Read (and they did)?

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, although I'm pretty sure most people didn't need me pushing it on them since it has such high (and well-deserved) praise.

5. Best Series You Started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Ender of 2015?

Series Starter: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Sequel: The Rose Society by Marie Lu

Series Ender: Endure by Sara B. Larson

6. Favorite New Author You Discovered in 2015?

Renee Ahdieh and Sabaa Tahir

7. Best Book From A Genre You Don't Typically Read/Was Out of Your Comfort Zone?

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

8. Most Action-Packed/Thrilling/Unputdownable Book of the Year?

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

9. Book You Read in 2015 that You Are Most Likely to Re-read Next Year?

I don't normally re-read books (as seen in my reading stats above), so I don't really have any re-reading plans for 2016.

10. Favorite Cover of a Book You Read in 2015?

Endure by Sara B. Larson (photos don't even do it justice)

11. Most Memorable Character of 2015?

Magiano from The Rose Society. He is so quirky and delightful to read about, and he has somehow managed to make his way into my extremely elite list of book boyfriends (current member count: 7)

12. Most Beautifully Written Book Read in 2015?

Definitely The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. That book was absolutely stunning.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book of 2015?

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven or The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

14. Book You Can't Believe You Waited Until 2015 to Finally Read?

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From a Book You Read in 2015?

“Some things exist in our lives for but a brief moment. And we must let them go on to light another sky.” - Renee Ahdieh, The Wrath and the Dawn

16. Shortest and Longest Books You Read in 2015?

Shortest: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (128 pages)

Longest: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (599 pages)

17. Book that Shocked You the Most?

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

18. OTP of the Year (you will go down with this ship!)

Shazi and Khalid (The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh)

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship of the Year?

Enzo and Raffaele (The Young Elites by Marie Lu)

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From an Author You've Read Previously?

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, or The Young Elites / The Rose Society by Marie Lu

21. Best Book You Read in 2015 Based SOLELY on a Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure?

I don't really think anyone pressured me into reading anything. I mean, there were people strongly suggesting that I read Crown of Midnight, but I would have picked it up anyway. They catalyzed my reading of the book more than they peer pressured me into reading it.

22. Newest Fictional Crush From a Book You Read in 2015?

Khalid (The Wrath and the Dawn), Enzo (The Young Elites), Magiano (The Rose Society)

23. Best 2015 Debut You Read?

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

25. Book that Put a Smile on Your Face/Was the Most FUN to Read?

The Amazing Book is Not on Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester

26. Book that Made You Cry/Nearly Cry in 2015?

Ummm... more than five books I read this year made me cry. But I absolutely BAWLED when I read All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. No shame.

27. Hidden Gem of the Year?

This book was published over twenty years ago, but I read A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines over the summer for summer reading, and was so glad I discovered it

28. Book that Crushed Your Soul?

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

29. Most Unique Book You Read in 2015?

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

30. Book that Made You the Most Mad (doesn't necessarily mean you didn't like it)?

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe or A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

~Your Blogging/Bookish Stats~

1. New Favorite Book Blog You Discovered in 2015?

Since I just started blogging this year, I discovered so many amazing blogs, so I can't choose!

2. Favorite Review You Wrote in 2015?

Probably my review for An Ember in the Ashes since it was really fun to write and it was my first review I posted on my blog!

I also really loved my review for Red Queen since it was my first GIF review, which ended up being somewhat of a normal review. I didn't realize how much GIFs could help spark ideas for what I wanted to write!

3. Best Discussion/Non-review Post You Had on Your Blog?

On Reading in Order (Whether It is a Series or Not)

4. Best Event that You Participated In (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

BookCon 2015!

5. Best Moment of Bookish/Blogging Life of 2015?

Creating Project Serendipity with Claire, Aila and Ava and seeing how many and how quickly everyone signed up! We ended up having 70 people sign up, which is absolutely crazy! I definitely have to give credit to Claire for coming up with the fantastic idea.

6. Most Challenging Thing About Blogging or Your Reading Life This Year?

Definitely juggling school, reading, and blogging. So much to do, so little time to do it.

7. Most Popular Blog Post This Year on Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

Project Serendipity (121 views)

8. Post You Wish Got a Little More Love?

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Review)

9. Best Bookish Discover (book related sites, bookstores, etc.)

BookedYouUp (Etsy), Happy Hello Co. (Etsy), Evie Seo (Society 6), The Strand (Bookstore)

10. Did You Complete Any Reading Challenges or Goals that You had Set For Yourself at the Beginning of This Year?

No, not really. I "completed" my Goodreads challenge, but probably half of the books I counted were manga or Wattpad stories. Not that I have anything against manga and Wattpad (I actually love it), but they are much quicker reads than a normal novel would be. And I signed up for a ton of other challenges that I failed miserably, but it's okay. I'll do better in 2016.

~Looking Ahead~

1. One Book You Didn't Get to in 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?

There are so many, but if I have to choose one, I'd say Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I was really looking forward to reading it, but never got around to it.

2. Book You are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard and Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

3. 2016 Debut You are Most Anticipating?

I couldn't narrow it down to just one, but my Top Three are probably The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig, The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi, and The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye!

4. Series Ending/a Sequel You are Most Anticipating in 2016?

The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh and Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

5. One Thing You Hope to Accomplish or Do in Your Reading/Blogging Life in 2016?

Read more! I'm aiming for 75 books for 2016, even though I just scraped the 50-book mark for this year. I have big aspirations for the new year.

6. A 2016 Release You've Already Read & Recommend to Everyone?

The only 2016 release I've read so far is Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan. It's definitely a unique take on a classic fairytale, so I'd definitely recommend it!

December Wrap-Up

I hope you all had a lovely holiday and have a happy New Year! Between the holidays and a lot of gift cards, I got a lot of books this past month that I'm super excited to show you all. Unfortunately I did not do as much reading as I hoped this month, but that's okay.

DECEMBER HAUL

Bought (pre-holiday haul)
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 1 by Arina Tanemura

Gifted
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab
- The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
- Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
- Zodiac by Romina Russell
- The Amazing Book is Not on Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 2 by Arina Tanemura
- preorder of Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
- preorder of Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Bought (post-holiday haul)
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 3 by Arina Tanemura
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 4 by Arina Tanemura
- Endure by Sara B. Larson

DECEMBER READING

Read:
- The Rose Society by Marie Lu (review coming soon!)
- The Amazing Book is Not on Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester (such a fun read! No review, but I highly recommend it if you love Danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil on YouTube!!)
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 1 by Arina Tanemura
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 2 by Arina Tanemura
- Outspoken by Lora Richardson (review here!)
- Endure by Sara B. Larson (devoured it in one day, review to come!)
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 3 by Arina Tanemura
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 4 by Arina Tanemura

Currently Reading:
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (for school)
- The Color of Water by James McBride (also for school but really enjoying it so far)
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab (THIS BOOK IS PHENOMENAL)

~Alexandra

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Publication Date: December 27, 2016

About Ever the Hunted (via Goodreads):

Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer.

However, it’s not so simple.

The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force.

This book sounds absolutely FANTASTIC. Okay, so I'll admit that maybe I was first attracted to the drop-dead gorgeous cover, but the synopsis definitely does not disappoint. I love a good betrayal story and am super excited to see how powerful Britta is, as well as how dark the magic and how mad the kings really are in the story. I can't believe this book doesn't come out for another year!

Most Anticipated Releases For The First Half of 2016 - Top Ten Tuesday #6

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is "Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The First Half of 2016".

1. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

2. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

3. The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

4. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

5. A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas

6.  The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye

7. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

8. The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

9. Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

10. And I Darken by Kiersten White