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Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Waiting On Wednesday: Random House Spring 2017 Catalog

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which upcoming, eagerly anticipated releases are highlighted on the blog.

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the Random House Spring 2017 Catalog:

Shadow Run by Adrianne Strickland and Michael Miller
Date: March 21, 2017
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Nev has just joined the crew of the starship Kaitan Heritage as the cargo loader. His captain, Qole, is the youngest-ever person to command her own ship, but she brooks no argument from her crew of orphans, fugitives, and con men. Nev can’t resist her, even if her ship is an antique.
As for Nev, he’s a prince, in hiding on the ship. He believes Qole holds the key to changing galactic civilization, and when her cooperation proves difficult to obtain, Nev resolves to get her to his home planet by any means necessary.
But before they know it, a rival royal family is after Qole too, and they’re more interested in stealing her abilities than in keeping her alive.
Nev’s mission to manipulate Qole becomes one to save her, and to survive, she’ll have to trust her would-be kidnapper. He may be royalty, but Qole is discovering a deep reservoir of power—and stars have mercy on whoever tries to hurt her ship or her crew.

The synopsis for Shadow Run reminds me a lot of the short-lived TV show Firefly, which I loved. So if Shadow Run is indeed along the same vein, I could see myself very much enjoying it!


Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves
Date: March 28, 2017
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Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Though her family is part of the Luminate, powerful users of magic, she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when, after inadvertently breaking her sister’s debutante spell—an important chance for a highborn young woman to show her prowess with magic—Anna finds herself exiled to her family’s once powerful but now crumbling native Hungary.
Her life might well be over.
In Hungary, Anna discovers that nothing is quite as it seems. Not the people around her, from her aloof cousin Noémi to the fierce and handsome Romani Gábor. Not the society she’s known all her life, for discontent with the Luminate is sweeping the land. And not her lack of magic. Isolated from the only world she cares about, Anna still can’t seem to stop herself from breaking spells.
As rebellion spreads across the region, Anna’s unique ability becomes the catalyst everyone is seeking. In the company of nobles, revolutionaries, and Romanies, Anna must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she’s always wanted, or embrace her ability and change that world forever.

Blood Rose Rebellion sounds like the standard historical fantasy with court politics that I love. But instead of being set in a fictional world it is set in Hungary, which I find interesting. I haven't heard anything about Blood Rose Rebellion yet, so here's hoping it is well received!


One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
Date: May 30, 2017
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Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

Five students walk into detention, but only four come out alive... it's like a Breakfast Club murder mystery! I would be lying if I said I wasn't super curious about One of Us is Lying!


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Random House Spring 2017 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Random House Spring 2017 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

Monday, March 6, 2017

Series Review: A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 1999-2006
Pages: 3,436
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 4 Stars


Dear Reader, 
I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.
In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.
It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Never has such a miserable tale of the depressing disasters that follow the lives of three unfortunate orphans been so charmingly absurd and enjoyable to read. Though the books are intended for an MG audience, the satirical humour spouted by narrator Lemony Snicket and more mature themes of moral complexity in the later books can be appreciated by an older audience. The books are incredibly formulaic and repetitive (essentially the orphans are passed off to a new guardian each book, Count Olaf shows up in a new disguise and attempts to steal the Baudelaire fortune, and the orphans use their smarts and talents to get away from him), but the repetitiveness had a more familial and calming effect on me rather than boring me.

I read the series in its entirety via audiobook, narrated by inimitable Tim Curry (except for books 3-5 which are narrated by Lemony Snicket himself). And I can't think of two people more suited to the narration of the gothic tones combined with the general absurdity of the stories presented in A Series of Unfortunate Events. If you're looking to try out the series for yourself or want to do a reread but don't feel like you have the time to fit all 13 books into your reading lineup, I would highly recommend checking out the series on audio.

Finally, let's talk about the Netflix TV Show. I can't speak about the movie adaptation starring Jim Carrey that was released in 2004 as I never saw it, but I understand it was not at all well received. However, I have seen the first season of the Netflix adaptation, starring Neil Patrick Harris and covering the first four books, and I am happy to report that it is most excellently done. It took me a few episodes to get into the rhythm of the story and characters, but once it hits its stride the show captures the gothic tone and absurdist themes of the books perfectly and is pretty faithful. Once again, this is proof positive that having the original author of the books (Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler) handle the script of the movie/TV show is the best way of ensuring that the adaptation is a good one.

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Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Waiting On Wednesday: Macmillan Spring 2017 Catalog

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which upcoming, eagerly anticipated releases are highlighted on the blog.

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the Macmillan Spring 2017 Catalog:

The Traitor's Kiss by Erin Beaty
Date: May 9, 2017
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An obstinate girl who will not be married.
A soldier desperate to prove himself.
A kingdom on the brink of war.
With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they’d call a lady―which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls―and on the soldiers escorting them.
As the girls' military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers as a spy, the less certain she becomes about whom to trust―and Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom.

Sage sounds like a girl after my own heart! I can't help but root for the tomboy in a period when it was considered improper to be unladylike. I haven't heard much about The Traitor's Kiss yet and so I eagerly await early (hopefully positive) reviews!


Roar by Cora Carmack
Date: June 13, 2017
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In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.
Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.
To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.
Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.
She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.
Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.

Well now, that's a lengthy synopsis that tells you a whole lot about what Roar will be about - I don't know about you, but I often feel like the less revealed in synopses, the better. But anyways, I won't deny that I am mighty intrigued by the premise anyway. Bring on Roar!


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Macmillan Spring 2017 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Macmillan Spring 2017 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

Monday, February 27, 2017

Series Review: The Mediator by Meg Cabot

Publisher: Avon Books
Published: 2000-2016
Pages: 2,286
Source: Gifted
Rating: 4 Stars


There's a hot guy in Susannah Simon's bedroom. Too bad he's a ghost.
Suze is a mediator - a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won't leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn't seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.
But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it's not that easy. There's a ghost with revenge on her mind... and Suze happens to be in the way.

The Mediator Series was my first series read of the year and let me tell you, it was a fantastically FUN way to start off my reading year. The series follows Suze Simon who has the ability to see, to talk to, and to beat up - whatever the occasion warrants - ghosts in order to send them on their way to the afterworld. The series was completed after six books in 2005, with an added novella and seventh novel set a decade later in 2016.

Suze Simon is definitely the best part of the series for me. I would want to be BFFs with her if not for the fact that I am convinced that she is WAY too cool for me. This girl has more personality in her pinkie finger than most protagonists have developed over the course of an entire book. Suze's singular sass, nerve, and fashion sense put her right up there with The Greats Buffy Summers and Veronica Mars, in my mind. In fact, the Mediator Series reads a lot like those teen serialized TV shows set in small town California that follow a new story each episode, in addition to being easy entertainment to take in.

This is my first Meg Cabot read - can you believe it? And if all of her protagonists are as fun as Suze Simon, then I am looking forward to reading more from her. I'm curious, which are the Meg Cabot books that I absolutely must read next? I would love recommendations!

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Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Waiting On Wednesday: Hachette Spring 2017 Catalog

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking The Spine in which upcoming, eagerly anticipated releases are highlighted on the blog.

This week, I've chosen to feature a few picks from the Hachette Spring 2017 Catalog:

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Date: March 28, 2017
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The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around— and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever.
What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?
The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor is one of my fave series EVER. Laini is such a talented writer with some really fantastic ideas so you know I'm crazy excited about her new book Strange the Dreamer!


The Star Thief by Lindsey Becker
Date: April 11, 2017
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Honorine's life as as maid at the Vidalia mansion is rather dull, dusting treasures from faraway places and daydreaming in front of maps of the world. But everything changes when she catches two brutish sailors ransacking Lord Vidalia's study, and then follows a mysterious girl with wings out into the night....
Suddenly, Honorine is whisked into the middle of a battle between the crew of a spectacular steamship and a band of mythical constellations. The stars in the sky have come to life to defend themselves against those who want to harness their powers. Much to her surprise, Honorine is the crux of it all, the center of an epic clash between magic and science, the old ways and the new. But can this spirited young girl bring both sides of a larger-than-life fight together before they unleash an evil power even older than the stars?

I haven't heard a lot about this one yet, but The Star Thief initially caught my eye when I read its enigmatic synopsis. I mean, "whisked into the middle of a battle between the crew of a spectacular steamship and a band of mythical constellations"?! That sounds crazy awesome!


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Hachette Spring 2017 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Hachette Spring 2017 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?