Hi everyone! It’s that part of the month again when we wrap everything up! We can’t wait to share with you what we read, reviewed, posted, and other in-real-life happenings!
Month: January 2018
Review: Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, LGBTQIA+
Publication: January 23, 2018 from Swoon Reads
Series: None. Standalone.
Length: 304 pages
Format: ARC from Swoon Reads
Rating: ★★★★★
Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting–working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she’s asexual). Alice is done with dating–no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.
But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!).
When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood.
The Defiant Blog Tour (Playlist + Giveaway)!
The Defiant by Lesley Livingston
Series: The Valiant #2
Series: The Valiant #2
Genre: YA Fantasy, Historical
Publication: January 23rd 2018 by Razorbill
Goodreads
Gladiator Fallon and her warrior sisters must face off against a rival gladiator academy in this lush sequel to the highly anticipated historical fantasy The Valiant.
They call her “Victrix” now. Victory.
But winning the highest honor ever bestowed upon a gladiatrix in Rome has earned Fallon more deadly enemies outside the arena than she ever faced within it. And it is those dearest to Fallon who will pay the price for her success.
Now, Fallon and her warrior sisters are thrust into a vicious conflict with a rival gladiator academy, one that will threaten not only Fallon’s heart – and her love for Roman soldier Cai – but the very heart of the Roman Empire.
Review: Frostblood by Elly Blake
Frostblood by Elly Blake
Genre: YA Fantasy, Romance, Magic
Publication: January 10th 2017 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Series: Frostblood Saga #1
Length: 376 pages
Format: finished copy
The frost king will burn.
Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has concealed her powers of heat and flame from the cruel Frostblood ruling class her entire life. But when her mother is killed trying to protect her, and rebel Frostbloods demand her help to overthrow their bloodthirsty king, she agrees to come out of hiding, desperate to have her revenge.
Despite her unpredictable abilities, Ruby trains with the rebels and the infuriating—yet irresistible—Arcus, who seems to think of her as nothing more than a weapon. But before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to compete in the king’s tournaments that pit Fireblood prisoners against Frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her—and from the icy young man she has come to love.
Review: Mary’s Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge
Mary’s Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge
Genre: YA Biography, Nonfiction, Graphic Novel, Sequential Art
Publication: January 30, 2018 from Roaring Brook Press
Series: None. Standalone.
Length: 320 pages
Format: ARC from the publisher
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5)
A young adult biography of Frankenstein’s profound young author, Mary Shelley, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of its publication, told through free verse and 300+ full-bleed illustrations.
Mary Shelley first began penning Frankenstein as part of a dare to write a ghost story, but the seeds of that story were planted long before that night. Mary, just nineteen years old at the time, had been living on her own for three years and had already lost a baby days after birth. She was deeply in love with famed poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, a mad man who both enthralled and terrified her, and her relationship with him was rife with scandal and ridicule. But rather than let it crush her, Mary fueled her grief, pain, and passion into a book that the world has still not forgotten 200 years later.
Dark, intense, and beautiful, this free-verse novel with over 300 pages of gorgeous black-and-white watercolor illustrations is a unique and unforgettable depiction of one of the greatest authors of all time.
Hyped Up Books of 2018
Hey, Bookworms!
It’s Jesse here. Today I wanted to add to all the hype, because why not? We all know what hyped up books are, but for those who don’t, let me explain.
A hyped up book or overhyped book is a book that is receiving so much pre-release buzz from publishers, press, bloggers, and readers in general. Books that everyone is so excited for that they can’t stop talking about them.
I thought it would be fun to compile a little list of the books that I think are getting the most hype this year. Now I know hype could be a good or bad thing. It not only pumps readers up to read the book, but it also scares them.
What if the book isn’t as good as the hype around it? I don’t want to be let down. What if I end up with an unpopular opinion?
Those are all valid reasons, but you’ll never know until you read the book! So let’s see some of the books receiving major buzz and hype!
Review: What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum
What to Say Next by Julie BuxbaumGenre: YA Contemporary
Publication: July 11th, 2017 by Delacorte Press
Series: N/A
Length: 297 pages
Format: Hardcover
Sometimes a new perspective is all that is needed to make sense of the world.
KIT: I don’t know why I decide not to sit with Annie and Violet at lunch. It feels like no one here gets what I’m going through. How could they? I don’t even understand.
DAVID: In the 622 days I’ve attended Mapleview High, Kit Lowell is the first person to sit at my lunch table. I mean, I’ve never once sat with someone until now. “So your dad is dead,” I say to Kit, because this is a fact I’ve recently learned about her.
When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?
Anticipated Additions On My Radar #4
I’ve recently discovered a few new books, and hence, I’ve added them to my Goodreads shelves! Today, I want to share a few of my newly added books with you! Click on the cover for a link to the Goodreads page!
Review: The Forgotten Book by Mechthild Gläser
The Forgotten Book by Mechthild Gläser
Genre: YA Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance
Publication: January 2, 2018 from Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan USA
Series: None. Standalone.
Length: 368 pages
Format: ARC from Fierce Reads
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
A Jane Austen-inspired YA tale about a sixteen-year-old girl who finds a magical book—and discovers that anything she writes inside it comes true.
Emma is used to things going her way. Her father is headmaster of her prestigious boarding school, her friends take her advice as gospel, and she’s convinced that a relationship with her long-time crush is on the horizon.
As it turns out, Emma hasn’t seen anything yet. When she finds an old book in an abandoned library, things really start going Emma’s way: anything she writes in the book comes true.
But the power of the book is not without consequences, and Emma soon realizes that she isn’t the only one who knows about it. Someone is determined to take it from her—and they’ll stop at nothing to succeed.
A new boy in school—the arrogant, aloof, and irritatingly handsome Darcy de Winter—becomes Emma’s unlikely ally as secrets are revealed and danger creeps ever closer.
Blood and Sand Blog Tour (Playlist + Giveaway!)
Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk
Series: Untitled #1
Series: Untitled #1
Genre: YA Fantasy, Historical
Publication: January 16th 2018 by Tor Teen
Length: 320 pages
The action-packed tale of a 17-year-old warrior princess and a handsome gladiator who dared take on the Roman Republic―and gave rise to the legend of Spartacus…
For teens who love strong female protagonists in their fantasy and historical fiction, Blood and Sand is a stirring, yet poignant tale of two slaves who dared take on an empire by talented debut author C. V. Wyk.
Roma Victrix. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to create an empire―an empire built on the backs of the conquered, brought back to Rome as slaves.
Attia was once destined to rule as the queen and swordmaiden of Thrace, the greatest warrior kingdom the world had seen since Sparta. Now she is a slave, given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome, as a sign of his master’s favor. Enslaved as a child, Xanthus is the preeminent gladiator of his generation.
Against all odds, Attia and Xanthus form a tentative bond. A bond that will spark a rebellion. A rebellion that threatens to bring the Roman Republic to its end―and gives rise to the legend of Spartacus…
The story continues in Fire and Ash, coming in 2019 from Tor Teen.
arctic books 