My Favorite Cover of 2015

So there are only a few cover reveals that have yet to be shared for the 2015 book year (*cough* A Mad Zombie Party *uncough*), and I think I’ve found the winner of the Most Beautiful Cover Award.

Their Fractured Light

Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

(Starbound #3)

Publication Date: December 1, 2015

Paperback, 400 pages, Disney-Hyperion

Genres: YA, Sci-Fi

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

A year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness for their planet, and protect them from destruction. Some say Flynn’s a madman, others whisper about conspiracies. Nobody knows the truth. A year before that, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux were rescued from a terrible shipwreck—now, they live a public life in front of the cameras, and a secret life away from the world’s gaze.

Now, in the center of the universe on the planet of Corinth, all four are about to collide with two new players, who will bring the fight against LaRoux Industries to a head. Gideon Marchant is an eighteen-year-old computer hacker—a whiz kid and an urban warrior. He’ll climb, abseil and worm his way past the best security measures to pull off onsite hacks that others don’t dare touch.

Sofia Quinn has a killer smile, and by the time you’re done noticing it, she’s got you offering up your wallet, your car, and anything else she desires. She holds LaRoux Industries responsible for the mysterious death of her father and is out for revenge at any cost.

When a LaRoux Industries security breach interrupts Gideon and Sofia’s separate attempts to infiltrate their headquarters, they’re forced to work together to escape. Each of them has their own reason for wanting to take down LaRoux Industries, and neither trusts the other. But working together might be the best chance they have to expose the secrets LRI is so desperate to hide.

My Thoughts

I just LOVE this cover! I don’t know why, but it’s soooo beautiful! The purples and the shinies! And just everything! I haven’t even read the first two books yet, but you can bet that I will be buying them and binge-reading them as soon as the release date for this book gets closer!

Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Becky Albertalli

Publication Date: April 7, 2015

Hardcover, 303 pages, Balzer + Bray

Genres: YA, Contemporary, LGBT

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

My Review

Cute! Adorbs! Awkward! Funny! All the light, fluffy, contemporary book feels wrapped into one lovely read!

This book was great. There’s no getting around the fact that Simon is a lovable main character. His friends are sweet, his family is fantastic, and everyone in this book is just so bloody awesome! At first, it was kind of hard to read the book from Simon’s point of view. The way the book read was how Simon’s thoughts actually played out (or at least, that’s how I pictured it), so when I first started reading it was difficult to understand exactly what was happening, but then his voice just clicked and I was loving every thought he had.

The way Albertalli dealt with the friend characters and other side characters of the book really had me smiling. I never disliked any of her characters, even ones who may have deserved some of my ire. They were all redeemable in my eyes and I think that that’s a great quality to give your characters. I think a lot of authors forget that these fake people are supposed to seem real, and sometimes human beings make mistakes.

While I loved the characters of the book so very much, I thought that the plot of the book was just good. It was a little predictable. And the book was super short. I especially wanted some expansion on the ending. I think all Simon lovers will agree to that! I also have to say that the ending just seemed to wrap things up a little too nicely, as well as a little too quickly. However, the issues I had with the plot didn’t really detract from the love I felt for the characters and a lot of the book in general.

All in all, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is a must-read for anyone who wants to read a laugh-out-loud, feel-good contemporary book. You’ll smile, you’ll cry a little, and you’ll just plain enjoy yourself.

*Note: I borrowed a copy of this book from my library.

Dean Winchester Friday

Dean Winchester (or sometimes Jensen Ackles) Fridays make me a very happy fangirl. You'll see why when you look at the pic.

Dean and Cas (sometimes) have the best interactions. Cas is so oblivious and Dean is so well… Dean.

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Sarah J. Maas

(A Court of Thorns and Roses #1)

Publication Date: May 5, 2015

Hardcover, 416 pages, Bloomsbury

Genres: YA/NA, Fantasy

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!

My Review

Team Tamlin! Team Tamlin! Team Tamlin!

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, I’ll start my review.

I wasn’t planning on reading this book so early after its release date. I mean, it’s only been a month. And now I have almost a full year to wait for the sequel, and after that ending, I don’t think I can handle waiting. URGH!

I’m sure everyone in the YA community knows who Sarah J. Maas is by now. Her Throne of Glass books are practically legendary. So, when I heard she was writing a new series, of course I was on board! Knowing that the book is about faeries, like her ToG series, made me a little hesitant, however. ToG didn’t get heavy on the faeries until I’d already grown connected to the characters. But I trusted the author, and that’s all that matters, right? Ehhh…

The characters of ACoTaR are definitely a fascinating bunch. Feyre (whose name I always manage to mispronounce in my head) is a strong character who doesn’t take any crap. And Tamlin, the cursed, shape-shifting faery who “kidnapped” her, is a hunk. And I want one. Or five. Okay, twenty. He’s also actually a good guy. I like that Sarah writes alpha males, without taking away their sense of humanity—even though a lot of the time the guys aren’t human. Now, I say this but there’s one exception—Rhys. Don’t hate me Rhys-lovers, but I feel like he’s just a douche. He didn’t really add a lot to the story, besides being a second love interest, and he was weird. I’ll expand more on the weird in a little bit.

The plot of the book was absolutely fantastic! It was like a romance novel, but with more action and adventure and I could see all the similarities to Beauty and the Beast and I loved them! I wanted to burst out singing “Tale as Old as Time.” The blossoming romance between Feyre and Tamlin was so awkward and cute and sexy! But then, things got weird… The faery court and the world that had been presented to the readers changed into something that I can only describe as bizarre. I did not like it at all. This was the last third or so of the book, when all of the action was actually happening, and I was just so thrown off by the strangeness! Thankfully, things managed to get back on track for the last few pages, but I was seriously losing any love I had for the beginning of this book there for a while.

All in all, Sarah J. Maas is an excellent world-builder and writer. I just didn’t appreciate some of the directions that were taken in the story. I do however, recommend this book to anyone who either likes her other books, or is wanting to read a steamy paranormal/fantasy romance, just be aware that things take a turn for the strange further in.

P.S. I have a theory for what happened at the end. If you want to know what it is, comment below and we can discuss.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book for myself.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

The Iron Warrior

Julie Kagawa

(The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #3)

Publication Date: October 27, 2015

Paperback, 384 pages, Harlequin Teen

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

The Iron Prince—my nephew—betrayed us all.

He killed me.

Then, I woke up.

Waking after a month on the brink of death, Ethan Chase is stunned to learn that the Veil that conceals the fey from human sight was temporarily torn away. Although humankind's glimpse of the world of Faery lasted just a brief moment, the human world has been cast into chaos, and the emotion and glamour produced by fear and wonder has renewed the tremendous power of the Forgotten Queen. Now, she is at the forefront of an uprising against the courts of Summer and Winter—a reckoning that will have cataclysmic effects on the Nevernever.

Leading the Lady's Forgotten Army is Keirran himself: Ethan's nephew, and the traitor son of the Iron Queen, Meghan Chase.To stop Keirran, Ethan must disobey his sister once again as he and his girlfriend, Kenzie, search for answers long forgotten. In the face of unprecedented evil and unfathomable power, Ethan's enemies must become his allies, and the world of the fey will be changed forevermore.

My Thoughts

I haven’t read any books in this spin-off yet. I’m waiting for all of them to be out so I can just marathon away. That’s what I did for the first three books and I think I enjoyed them more because of that.

What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Review: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rukoski

The Winner’s Crime

Marie Rutkoski

(The Winner’s Trilogy #2)

Publication Date: March 3, 2015

Hardcover, 402 pages, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Goodreads

Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement... if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

My Review

Arin and Kestrel are once again star-crossed, yet this time, it seems like nothing can help bring them back together. Kestrel’s engaged to the crown prince of Valoria and Arin is just trying to keep his people from starving to death. And when their paths collide, fire ignites, and everything gets burned.

Arin and Kestrel are two very dynamic and flawed characters. Kestrel is too secretive and too naïve, but at the same time, she’s ready to do whatever it takes to keep the casualties of her father’s and the emperor’s war to a minimum. Arin, on the other hand, knows his people need some sort of miracle and is willing to fight for it, yet he can’t stop making mistakes because of the girl he’s in love with. Both of their emotional turmoil and unfortunate plights had me turning pages as fast as my eyes could read.

The plot of the book was what one might consider to be part of the second-book syndrome. However, this is only true based on the slowness of the beginning and the heaviness of the political drama going on. Because, while there are a lot of action scenes that had my eyes practically popping out of my head, they’re sometimes buried under negotiations with other characters. But once I got into the flow of this ebb and weave—ebb being the action and weave being the political drama—I really found myself enjoying this book. Arin and Kestrel created captivating stories on their own, and if their stories hadn’t have intertwined, I would still enjoy reading about this slave boy who grew up to save his people, as well as this sheltered little girl who didn’t necessarily examine the consequences of not just her actions, but also others’ actions, and is waking up to reality.

What I wasn’t really sure about as I was reading was the side characters’ roles. The emperor is the prime antagonist, and at times, he just felt like the cliché villain we’ve all come to scoff at. Maybe he’ll get more depth in book three, though. Additionally, Tensen had me scratching my head simply because I couldn’t remember his character from the first book (or if he even was a character from the first book), but I did like the role he played in this one. Now the prince was a fantastic character! I really enjoyed reading about him and his untypical prince-ness. I also enjoyed some other characters that I refuse to mention because of potential spoilers.

Now, I have to mention that The Winner’s Curse and I had a love/hate type of relationship. I wasn’t sure about the slavery aspect of the book, it just didn’t feel real to me. It was a romanticized version of slavery. This book didn’t have that same feel. In fact, I think this book turned that notion on its head. There wasn’t a lot of slavery present in the book, but what was mentioned seemed true and Kestrel’s voice really captured how she grew away from her society’s ideas and acceptance towards the issue of slavery. Rukoski’s writing really managed to shape strong characters, flaws and all, into a story about a world seemingly crumbling from the outside in.

All in all, The Winner’s Crime is most definitely better than its sequel, it has elegant writing, surprises galore, and an ending that will have you begging for book three. It definitely deserves a place on your shelves!

*Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This in no way altered my opinion/review.

My Thoughts on the ABC Family Shadowhunters (The Mortal Instruments) TV Show

I’m sure everyone has heard by now that ABC Family is in the process of creating a television show for Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series. If you haven’t heard about this, then where the heck have you been? It’s all over the internet right now. If you want to learn more, I’d suggest heading on over to Mundie Moms, they pretty much know it all when it comes to Cassandra Clare, and I know for a fact that they’re following the news about this TV show very closely. And, because I feel like everyone else has shared their opinion on the TV show, I thought I’d share too.

First off, the title of the show. I like it. Instead of calling the show The City of Bones or The Mortal Instruments, ABC is calling it Shadowhunters. I think the new title gives the show a modern feel and it’s just way cooler than the other two possibilities. Honestly, if I’d heard the title mentioned and I hadn’t read the books, I probably would have wanted to watch it, just because the title is so darn cool.

The big thing to talk about is the cast. And I have to say, so far I freakin’ love the cast. Really all I was hoping for as casting rumors were swiveling around was that Alec would be played by somebody that I felt looked like Alec. He’s my favorite character, so of course I’m going to take a vested interest in his appearance. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Matthew Daddario is a babe.

I also love the diversity element of the cast. Isaiah Mustafa is an awesome pick for Luke. I’m just not sure about his character arc:

Luke Garroway is an NYPD detective investigating a string of "demonic" murders. Luke feels a fatherly instinct to protect Clary, a strong affection for Jocelyn and has secrets of his own. Once a strong and powerful Shadowhunter, he has since become the thing he once hated most – a werewolf pack leader.

And Emeraude Toubia looks like she could kick some serious butt as Izzy.

Here’s a pic I found on Mundie Moms of the whole cast. Mundie Moms said it was made by a fan:

The cast is also really nice. They’ve been tweeting and sharing videos galore. This makes me really happy because if they love what they’re doing and they’re nice to the fans, this show could really see some movement.

All in all, I’m really excited about this show. I’m way more excited about this than I was about the movie (I was never a huge fan of Jamie Campbell Bower) and I think they’re doing good things with the story, which is all a fan can ask for.

Which Team Are You? : The Pushing the Limits Edition

I basically just post a book series every week and have people vote on what team they are. I know the YA Sisterhood does the YA Crush Tournament, but I just want to find out how much you guys like one love interest over another, in one series.

Last week's (or two weeks in this case) poll was over The Castor Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Team Ethan won!

So for this edition of “Which Team Are You?” I’m going to ask you who your pick of hunky man-flesh is from Katie McGarry’s Pushing the Limits series. 

You can choose from:

1) Noah

or 2) Ryan

OR 3) Isaiah

OR 4) West

I’m Team I Can’t Choose! I know, I know. If I tell you you have to pick one, then I should be able to pick a favorite, too, right? Well… I just don’t think I can. I really loved Noah’s storyline in the first book, but I really love Ryan’s character, and Isaiah is a good bad boy too! Maybe I’ll just pick West since I can’t choose between those three. Sound good?

If you had to choose one, who would it be, and why? If you haven’t read the books (And why not!?), who do you think sounds more appealing from the Pushing the Limits summary (which favors Noah, oops) below:

So wrong for each other …and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Which Team Are You?

• Team Noah
• Team Ryan
• Team Isaiah
• Team West

Acepoll

More polls: Create

***Please note that I stop checking the poll the Friday before the new poll comes out (on Sunday). Also, please only vote once so everyone’s vote counts, unless you need to vote for both guys. I give you permission to do that because sometimes choosing is tough.***

**Also note that these are not my images. I found them online.

Stacking the Shelves: The End of Days Edition

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme that is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

I finished To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han and I loved it! I needed the sequel ASAP, so I bought it and some other books.

World After and End of Days by Susan Ee

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

I’ve already read World After, but I’m excited to dive into End of Days.

                                                                                                                               

What books have you bought/received lately?