Waiting on Wednesday (102)

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

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce
Series: The Numair Chronicles #1, Tortall #8
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 480 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 6, 2018

About Tempests and Slaughter (via Goodreads):

Arram. Varice. Ozorne. In the first book in the Numair Chronicles, three student mages are bound by fate . . . fated for trouble. Arram Draper is a boy on the path to becoming one of the realm’s most powerful mages. The youngest student in his class at the Imperial University of Carthak, he has a Gift with unlimited potential for greatness–and for attracting danger. At his side are his two best friends: Varice, a clever girl with an often-overlooked talent, and Ozorne, the “leftover prince” with secret ambitions. Together, these three friends forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms. And as Ozorne gets closer to the throne and Varice gets closer to Arram’s heart, Arram begins to realize that one day soon he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie. In the Numair Chronicles, readers will be rewarded with the never-before-told story of how Numair Salmalín came to Tortall. Newcomers will discover an unforgettable fantasy adventure where a kingdom’s future rests on the shoulders of a talented young man with a knack for making vicious enemies.

Waiting on Wednesday (101)

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

Sightwitch by Susan Dennard
Series: The Witchlands #0.5
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 208 pages
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: February 13, 2018

About Sightwitch (via Susan Dennard):

Before Safi and Iseult battled a Bloodwitch…

Before Merik returned from the dead…

Ryber Fortiza was a Sightwitch Sister at a secluded convent, waiting to be called by her goddess into the depths of the mountain. There she would receive the gift of foretelling. But when that call never comes, Ryber finds herself the only Sister without the Sight.

Years pass and Ryber’s misfit pain becomes a dull ache, until one day, Sisters who already possess the Sight are summoned into the mountain, never to return. Soon enough, Ryber is the only Sister left. Now, it is up to her to save her Sisters, though she does not have the Sight—and though she does not know what might await her inside the mountain.

On her journey underground, she encounters a young captain named Kullen Ikray, who has no memory of who he is or how he got there. Together, the two journey ever deeper in search of answers, their road filled with horrors, and what they find at the end of that road will alter the fate of the Witchlands forever.

Sightwitch—available February 13—is an illustrated tale set in the Witchlands and told through Ryber’s journal entries and sketches.

I AM SO SO SO EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK. I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE WITCHLANDS SERIES SO FAR AND CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT RYBER. AND THE EXCERPT WAS SO AMAZING AND I KNOW THE WHOLE BOOK WILL BE TOO.

Waiting on Wednesday (100)

Interlude by Chantele Sedgwick
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Page Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Publication Date: February 13, 2018

About Interlude (via Goodreads):

When eighteen-year-old Mia Cox finds out she's not a match to donate a kidney to save her younger sister's life, she jumps on a plane to New York, convinced she can talk their estranged birth mother into donating hers instead. After an embarrassing conversation with the cute boy sitting next to her for the flight, she realizes he's the one and only Jaxton Scott, the troubled lead singer of a famous rock band she hates--and he's running away from his rock star life. As the hours pass and they get to know each other, she finds herself opening up to him like she never has to anyone, even though he's a total stranger. Which is fine, since she'll never see him again. But when her trip to New York doesn't go as planned, and a phone call from her sister changes everything she had planned, Mia knows she must put her trust in fate and her new friend, even though she's lost all reason to hope.

2018 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Beat the Backlist Challenge was created by Novel Knight to encourage us to read books that were released in past years. As someone who is always behind on my reading, I still want to read all those incredible books I've missed out on in the past without feeling bad about skipping books that are coming out. I feel like there's kind of a pressure with that as a blogger/person in the bookish community to stay on top of all the new releases and that isn't always possible? I don't know (but side note: a great video kind of about that is by Ariel Bissett!)

I don't really have a set goal in mind in terms of number, but I was thinking maybe proportionally, at least 1/3 of my reading this coming year be backlist?

Waiting on Wednesday (99)

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

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary/LGBTQIA+
Page Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: January 30, 2018

About The Dangerous Art of Blending In (via Goodreads):

Seventeen-year-old Evan Panos doesn’t know where he fits in. His strict Greek mother refuses to see him as anything but a disappointment. His quiet, workaholic father is a staunch believer in avoiding any kind of conflict. And his best friend Henry has somehow become distractingly attractive over the summer.

Tired, isolated, scared—Evan’s only escape is drawing in an abandoned church that feels as lonely as he is. And, yes, he kissed one guy over the summer. But it’s his best friend Henry who’s now proving to be irresistible. It’s Henry who suddenly seems interested in being more than friends. And it’s Henry who makes him believe that he’s more than his mother’s harsh words and terrifying abuse. But as things with Henry heat up, and his mother’s abuse escalates, Evan has to decide how to find his voice in a world where he has survived so long by avoiding attention at all costs.

Waiting on Wednesday (98)

The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara
Genre: Young Adult/Historical Fiction
Page Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Publication Date: February 6, 2018

About The Unbinding of Mary Reade (via Goodreads):

A swashbuckling, smart novel based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack. There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mother, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy granny, where a girl could never be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a hired sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s profession—and her safety—depend on her ability to disguise the fact that she’s a girl. Leastways, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and right in the middle of the swashbuckling crowd of bloodthirsty pirates, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate. The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain and earns herself a spot among the pirates’ crew. For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living life as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything—her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life.

Waiting on Wednesday (97)

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

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/LGBTQIA+
Page Length: 303 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: January 23, 2018

About Reign of the Fallen (via Goodreads):

An LGBT fantasy series that follows a talented necromancer who must face down a deadly nemesis who has learned how to turn her magic into a weapon.

Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

A lavish fantasy with a surprising and breathtaking LGBT romance at its core, Reign of the Fallen is a gutsy, unpredictable read that will grab readers by the throat and never let go....