Top Ten 2016 Debuts I Am Looking Forward To ~ Top Ten Tuesday #5

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the The Broke and the Bookish. They will post a new Top Ten list every Tuesday that one of their bloggers will answer, and anyone who wants to can join in and make their own lists. This week's topic is "Top Ten 2016 Debuts Novels We Are Looking Forward To", and let me just say, there are a TON of debuts I am so psyched for this coming year so it was really hard to just choose ten.

1. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
2. The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
3. Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie
4. Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
5. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
6. Beyond the Red by Ava Jae
7. The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry
8. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
9. The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
10. Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

Waiting on Wednesday (24)

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

Riders by Veronica Rossi
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Mythology
Page Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: February 16, 2016

About Riders (via Goodreads):

For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.

Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can't remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen--Conquest, Famine, and Death--are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence.

They fail.

Now--bound, bloodied, and drugged--Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he's fallen for--not to mention all of humankind--he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger.

But will anyone believe him?

I have never heard of or seen a book quite like this, and it intrigues me to no end. I've heard about the horsemen of the apocalypse, but don't know much about them, and think it would be interesting to see a YA spin on them. This book sounds absolutely fascinating and brilliant and I need to read it NOW.

COVER REVEAL: Exit Wound by Alexandra Moore

Exit Wound by Alexandra Moore
Publisher: Limitless Publishing
Publication Date: December 8th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Thriller

~ 

Being crowned as royalty in Rosewood Academy’s secret society wasn’t in Bea Morrison’s plans…
A senior in high school, Bea’s life changed forever when a tragic car crash claimed her best friend’s life, leaving her devastated and alone. Now at Rosewood Academy of the Arts, Bea owes a debt. With her best friend no longer queen, it’s up to Bea to be fulfill the role until graduation.
There is nothing money can’t buy, including Crosley’s king status…
When Bea accepts her place as queen, the arrogant Crosley is quick to remind her of her royal duties. Obsessed with the era of the Tudors, Crosley insists they must consummate their relationship—but spousal duties aren’t what Bea signed up for. When she rejects Crosley’s proposal, his expectations twist into absolute obsession.
A sadistic mind makes for an expert stalker…
After graduation, Bea thinks the nightmare of Rosewood Academy is over. She’s pleasantly surprised to reconnect with the gorgeous Everett Thompson, a drummer for her brother’s band. As feelings from their past fling resurface, Bea hopes for a fresh start with the guy who got away.
Bea’s hopes are shattered when she receives threatening texts from Crosley, who is still determined to collect his debt. And as Crosley continues to pursue her, a terrible tragedy proves he is even more dangerous than she feared.
If Bea has learned one thing, it’s that life is too fragile, and it’s anybody’s guess who will make it out of this nightmare alive.

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Making Waves (10) ~ NaNo Edition

Making Waves is a weekly question feature created by the Waterwitch Babes (part of Susan Dennard’s Truthwitch Street Team). Every Thursday, we’ll have a fun question that all are welcome to answer on their blog. Anyone can join! The questions will be random and/or relate to the upcoming book Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. A linky is provided so that everyone can link up their post and participate in the fun!

This week's question is...  Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? How has your experience been so far?

Yes and no, I guess. I'm signed up for NaNo and wrote approximately 5000 words the first week, but then I got caught up in school and have not worked on my project since. My school is on a trimester system so there's always a ton of work in mid-November as the first trimester comes to a close, and I just got less and less motivated because I was so far behind and I also love my story but not how it was translating into words. I adored the idea and now I'm starting to hate it because it's not what I know it can be. I wrote one good scene for it back in fall '14, but I've been having trouble extending it from one scene to a whole novel. I never expected it to be a full-fledged novel, but I found love for the story again this year and wanted to see if I could. Yet between school and my lack of motivation to write, I'm currently about 25,000 words behind and I don't have any time to actually write and catch up by the end of November because of Thanksgiving and other things.

Waiting on Wednesday (23)

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

Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 384 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: June 14, 2016

About Ivory and Bone (via Goodreads):

The only life seventeen-year-old Kol knows is hunting at the foot of the Great Ice with his brothers. But food is becoming scarce, and without another clan to align with, Kol, his family, and their entire group are facing an uncertain future.

Traveling from the south, Mya and her family arrive at Kol’s camp with a trail of hurt and loss behind them, and hope for a new beginning. When Kol meets Mya, her strength, independence, and beauty instantly captivate him, igniting a desire for much more than survival.

Then on a hunt, Kol makes a grave mistake that jeopardizes the relationship that he and Mya have only just started to build. Mya was guarded to begin with—and for good reason—but no apology or gesture is enough for her to forgive him. Soon after, another clan arrives on their shores. And when Mya spots Lo, a daughter of this new clan, her anger intensifies, adding to the already simmering tension between families. After befriending Lo, Kol learns of a dark history between Lo and Mya that is rooted in the tangle of their pasts.

When violence erupts, Kol is forced to choose between fighting alongside Mya or trusting Lo’s claims. And when things quickly turn deadly, it becomes clear that this was a war that one of them had been planning all along. 

I am a huge fan of the blog Pub(lishing) Crawl, which Julie Eshbaugh has been a part of for as long as I can remember. I'd heard her mention her book a few times on the blog and was interested, but now that I've seen the synopsis and the glorious cover, I honestly cannot wait seven more months! CLASHING CLANS, DARK PASTS, ROMANTIC TENSION?!?! *grabby hands*

Red Queen (GIF Review)

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen #1
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian/Fantasy
Page Length: 383 pages
Format: Hardcover

About Red Queen (via Goodreads):

This is a world divided by blood - red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart...

Aveyard's writing style was superb. Despite the fact that I saw a lot of common tropes and typical elements of other popular YA in Red Queen, I thought Aveyard wrote Mare's story masterfully (and better than 99% of those books with similar tropes). It was overall a pretty good read. I'd definitely give it 3 stars.

I have been trying to come up with words to describe how I feel about this book, but I've been struggling a bit since my feelings are a bit all over the place about the book. So I figured today would be the day to have my first ever GIF review!!! *throws confetti*

~ MY THOUGHTS ON THE CHARACTERS ~

Mare

It wasn't exactly like I ever hated Mare, but I wasn't exactly sure what I thought of her at first. I don't think that she's the most amazing protagonist out there, but she definitely has some good qualities and I overall liked her as a character. I feel like she could have had a bit more character development, but I'm satisfied, I suppose.

Cal

I loved Cal, but at the same time he had this rough exterior and also this hidden hatred that kind of scared me. I'm definitely going to have to keep an eye on him in the next book!

Maven

That was... interesting, to put it lightly. I sort of saw it coming, but at the same time I didn't. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FEEL. RIGHT NOW ALL I FEEL IS RAGE AND HATE AND BETRAYAL. BUT HE WAS SO GOOD AT BEING A LIAR *cries*

Kilorn

Kilorn was barely there throughout Red Queen but I really want to see him more throughout the rest of the series because I loved him when he was there.

Evangeline

~ MY THOUGHTS ON THE ROMANCE ~

Mare and Cal

They definitely have an interesting relationship, but I love it. I love it so so much. Probably more than I should. (I guess it didn't help that there was a romantic dance scene though. I am a complete sucker for those <3)

Mare and Maven

MEHHHHHHHH. I was never really invested in their relationship. Not one bit. And by the end I just hated Maven too much to even care. And that last ditch effort to get Mare back... NO.

Mare and Kilorn

I'm not usually a fan of the childhood crush romances, but Kilorn didn't play a huge role in the book, and I really want to see them together. Maybe. I don't really know. It's hard to say. But so far, I really do like Kilorn.

Cal and Evangeline

Because their relationship was totally existent. I mean, the whole Queenstrial thing made sense. But even when they were trying to look like they were actually happy. Nope nope nope. Not convincing at all. (Although maybe it was supposed to be that way because it was from Mare's POV the whole time?? Who knows.) Is this even going to be a thing after everything that happened?!?

The horrible thought that has plagued my mind:

IS THERE GOING TO BE A LOVE-PENTAGON?!?!?!?

~  MY THOUGHTS ON THE PLOT ~

I guess there were supposed to be a lot of twists in the book, but whenever a "twist" came, it felt like this to me:

Okay, so not quite like that. But basically none of the twists completely shocked me the way I think they were supposed to. I guess I was expecting a lot because my friend told me there were a lot of twists involved, so I was kind of coming up with scenarios way before things would happen, so even though I didn't know the exact twists, I was not really surprised when things went awry and people were betrayed by the people they trusted most.

Despite the lack of shock factor, the plot was overall pretty good, although most of the action did not occur until the last hundred or so pages. In fact, those last hundred pages were probably my favorite part of the book. SO MUCH ACTION AND REBELLION AND BETRAYAL AND SO MANY FEELINGS.

Waiting on Wednesday (22)

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

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Mythology
Page Length: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: May 3, 2016

About The Star-Touched Queen (via Goodreads):

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.

THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN is a lush, beautifully written and vividly imagined fantasy inspired by Indian mythology.

*flails* I NEED THIS BOOK. First of all, I am one of those people who obsesses over horoscopes, so that first sentence of the synopsis totally hooked me. Second, everything about the plot sounds like something I WOULD LOVE. I am a huge fan of books based on mythology, and HAVING GARDENS OF GLASS AND A TREE THAT BEARS MEMORIES INSTEAD OF FRUIT JUST SOUNDS AMAZING *flails* Oh, and that cover? Absolute perfection.