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Showing posts with label Macmillan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Macmillan. Show all posts

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?

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Waiting On Wednesday: Macmillan Winter 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 Winter 2017 Catalog. And also, one from Macmillan's Fall 2016 Catalog because I haven't gotten to feature it yet:

Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Date: November 8, 2016
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Long before she was the terror of Wonderland — the infamous Queen of Hearts — she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.
Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.
At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king's marriage proposal, she meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship.
Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

I'm so excited for Heartless, Marissa Meyer's take on the Queen of Hearts. Marissa Meyer knows how to write good fairy tale retellings and she can do no wrong in my eyes. Plus, early reviews I've read for Heartless so far have all been positive!


The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser
Date: January 3, 2017
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Amy Lennox doesn't know quite what to expect when she and her mother pick up and leave Germany for Scotland, heading to her mother's childhood home of Lennox House on the island of Stormsay.
Amy's grandmother, Lady Mairead, insists that Amy must read while she resides at Lennox House—but not in the usual way. It turns out that Amy is a book jumper, able to leap into a story and interact with the world inside. As thrilling as Amy's new power is, it also brings danger: someone is stealing from the books she visits, and that person may be after her life. Teaming up with fellow book jumper Will, Amy vows to get to the bottom of the thefts—at whatever cost.

The Book Jumper was first released in 2015 in German, and is now being rereleased this winter in English. I think I speak for all book lovers in sometimes wishing to be able to jump into the pages of our favourite bookish worlds and frolic about!


Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer
Date: January 31, 2017
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In her first graphic novel, bestselling author Marissa Meyer extends the world of the Lunar Chronicles with a brand-new, action-packed story about Iko, the android with a heart of (mechanized) gold. When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers' leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the bestselling series.

Another new release by Marissa Meyer and one I'm equally as excited for! I've finally become a graphic novel reader this year and it has led to some great reads. Wires and Nerve will take us back to the Lunar Chronicles universe, this time featuring fan favourite Iko, and I can't wait to catch up with the Rampion crew!


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

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Waiting On Wednesday: Macmillan Spring 2016 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 2016 Catalog:

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Date: April 26, 2016
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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.

I've always adored mythology, but my experiences have been almost entirely with Greek mythology. Now here's something new: The Star-Touched Queen is inspired by Indian mythology! So cool.


True Born by L.E. Sterling
Date: May 3, 2016
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Welcome to Dominion City.
After the great Plague descended, the world population was decimated...and their genetics damaged beyond repair.
The Lasters wait hopelessly for their genes to self-destruct. The Splicers pay for expensive treatments that might prolong their life. The plague-resistant True Borns are as mysterious as they are feared…
And then there's Lucy Fox and her identical twin sister, Margot. After endless tests, no one wants to reveal what they are.
When Margot disappears, a desperate Lucy has no choice but to put her faith in the True Borns, led by the charismatic Nolan Storm and the beautiful but deadly Jared Price. As Lucy and the True Borns set out to rescue her sister, they stumble upon a vast conspiracy stretching from Dominion’s street preachers to shady Russian tycoons. But why target the Fox sisters?
As they say in Dominion, it’s in the blood.

From what I understand, True Born gained a great many number of readers on Wattpad before getting a publishing deal. I have never been immune to the effects of buzz so of course I'm intrigued to read what all the fuss is about over this one!


False Hearts by Laura Lam
Date: June 16, 2016
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Raised in the closed cult of Mana’s Hearth and denied access to modern technology, conjoined sisters Taema and Tila dream of a life beyond the walls of the compound. When the heart they share begins to fail, the twins escape to San Francisco, where they are surgically separated and given new artificial hearts. From then on they pursue lives beyond anything they could have previously imagined.
Ten years later, Tila returns one night to the twins’ home in the city, terrified and covered in blood, just before the police arrive and arrest her for murder—the first homicide by a civilian in decades. Tila is suspected of involvement with the Ratel, a powerful crime syndicate that deals in the flow of Zeal, a drug that allows violent minds to enact their darkest desires in a terrifying dreamscape. Taema is given a proposition: go undercover as her sister and perhaps save her twin’s life. But during her investigation Taema discovers disturbing links between the twins’ past and their present. Once unable to keep anything from each other, the sisters now discover the true cost of secrets.

There's a lot going on in that synopsis: conjoined twins, a scary cult, a murder plot, and psychoactive drugs, to name a few. So how could I not be curious about False Hearts?!


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Macmillan Spring 2016 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Macmillan Spring 2016 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Waiting On Wednesday: Macmillan Winter 2016 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 Winter 2016 Catalog:

Stars Above by Marissa Meyers
Date: February 2, 2016
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The enchantment continues....
The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?
With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

I'm excited to see a bound collection of nine extra stories from the Lunar Chronicles universe! There's something so much more special about having a physical collection of stories bound together with a beautiful matching cover to go along with the rest of the series, instead of a few stray e-novellas out there on the internet. And I'm looking forward to learning more about our favourite characters in Stars Above!


These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas
Date: February 9, 2016
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Jane Austen meets X-­Men in this gripping and adventure-­filled paranormal romance set in Victorian London.
England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.

Okay, how can I resist the tagline "Jane Austen meets X-Men"?? What a wonderfully bizarre combination. It may just be a gimmick to get people interested in the book, but hey, it worked on me. I guess I'll wait to see how These Vicious Masks fares in reviews before picking it up, but I'm definitely intrigued!


Riders by Veronica Rossi
Date: February 16, 2016
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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?

Woah, wait - the premise of Riders has the main character becoming one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse?? Talk about wonderfully bizarre! I'm all for originality in books, plus I've heard great things about Veronica Rossi as an author, so I say bring on Riders!


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Macmillan Winter 2016 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Macmillan Winter 2016 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: January 1, 2012
Pages: 336
Source: Bought
Rating: 4 Stars


Two misfits.
One extraordinary love.
Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.
Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.
Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

In short: Eleanor & Park is unlike any YA Contemporary Romance out there and it is that, combined with Rainbow Rowell's talent at crafting genuine characters who experience earnest love, which makes it so special.
Eleanor & Park is not the kind of book I think of when I think of YA Contemporary Romance. And that's absolutely a good thing. Neither Eleanor nor Park are described as being model- or movie-star-good-looking as are most star-crossed lovers of YA fiction. There's nothing remotely exceptional about them, actually. And their relationship isn't punctured with the over-dramatic cliched conflicts or the nonsensical hurdles that pepper the contemporary romance genre. Eleanor & Park is an unabashedly real, uncliched tale of love between two average people and it is that which makes it so remarkable.

Admittedly, I wasn't immediately swept up in their relationship. There was a bit of a disconnect for me between the moment when Eleanor and Park were impassive towards each other on the bus and the moment when they were sweetly holding hands with each other on the bus. But thankfully Rainbow Rowell soon convinced me that theirs was a love so earnest that it was worth cherishing. Rainbow is also a master crafter of genuine characters and thus it was not long until both Eleanor and Park seemed as real to me as actual people, both endowed with plenty of teenage angst, but both sincere and very dear to me.

Eleanor & Park is unlike any YA Contemporary Romance out there and it is this uniqueness in the genre, combined with Rainbow Rowell's talent at crafting genuine characters who experience earnest love, that makes it such a stand-out and special read. Eleanor & Park is only the second book by Rainbow Rowell I have read and, though I didn't love it as much as Fangirl, my special experience with it has solidified my love for all things Rainbow. I can't wait to follow up this experience with her adult books!

Other Reviews:
Alison Can Read
Books in the Spotlight
A Girl, Books and Other Things

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Sunday, July 5, 2015

Review: Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published: January 27, 2015
Pages: 220
Source: Gifted
Rating: 3.5 Stars


In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.

In short: Fairest by Marissa Meyer is a fascinating - and tragic - look into Levana's backstory.
The best villains are the complex ones. And thanks to this in-depth view into the backstory, thought processes, and insecurities of Queen Levana, the villain of The Lunar Chronicles, we get to see this villain as much more than just a two-dimensional evil Queen who wants to take over the Earth. Ideally, the author could relay this complexity about the villain directly into the storyline itself, but I'm okay that it took separate book to do it in this case.

It did make for a pretty fascinating read, after all. Fairest tells a pretty tragic story about Levana, everything from her disfigurement and self-esteem issues to an especially bitter tale of unrequited love. It's pretty disquieting to read about such awful turmoil and the heartbreak that Levana faces as part of her origin story and it almost makes you feel sympathetic to her plight. Almost. She's still an altogether terrible person. And a disempathetic-type sociopath.

Fairest is largely about Levana and her backstory, but we also get a look into the foundation of the virus, beasts, shells, etc., that make up the groundwork for the premise and conflict in the series, so that was pretty interesting, albeit perhaps a little lacking in nuance in the way it was communicated. Overall, though I don't think Fairest was mind-blowing in any significant way, I did really like getting some insight into Levana's mind and Luna's motive.

Previously, my reviews of Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress.

Other Reviews:
Carina's Books
Megan Likes Books
Time Turning Reads

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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Waiting On Wednesday: Macmillan Fall 2015 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 Fall 2015 Catalog:

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Date: September 29, 2015
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Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

New series from Leigh Bardugo set in the same world as The Grisha!! This is basically some of the best bookish news ever because I was SO not ready to be done with that world, considering all the fantastic work Leigh put into Grisha and Ravkan lore. Cannot wait for Six of Crows!


Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith
Date: October 6, 2015
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A high-concept, fantastical espionage novel set in a world where dreams are the ultimate form of political intelligence.
Livia is a dreamstrider. She can inhabit a subject's body while they are sleeping and, for a short time, move around in their skin. She uses her talent to work as a spy for the Barstadt Empire. But her partner, Brandt, has lately become distant, and when Marez comes to join their team from a neighboring kingdom, he offers Livia the option of a life she had never dared to imagine. Livia knows of no other dreamstriders who have survived the pull of Nightmare. So only she understands the stakes when a plot against the Empire emerges that threatens to consume both the dreaming world and the waking one with misery and rage.
A richly conceived world full of political intrigue and fantastical dream sequences, at its heart Dreamstrider is about a girl who is struggling to live up to the potential before her.

Damn, this cover and blurb just scream originality! I love it. It's pretty rare that I come across a book these days that doesn't seem reminiscent or derivative of a dozen other books. So I'm definitely looking forward to Dreamstrider!


Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Date: October 6, 2015
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Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.
Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.

Woohoo, new Rainbow Rowell! And even better: a return of some Simon and Baz action from Cath's fanfic from Fangirl! I had a ton of fun reading that fanfic - which is a play on Harry Potter H/D slash fanfiction - so I already know I'm going to have a ton of fun with Carry On!


Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer
Date: November 10, 2015
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Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.
Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend–the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.
Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

824 pages of glorious reading and spending time with my faves Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, and who I am sure will be a new fave girl, Winter. I have no doubt that Marissa Meyer will do a fantastic job with this series ender, considering her books somehow seem to get even more intense and epic than the one before. Winter is coming!


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Macmillan Fall 2015 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Macmillan Fall 2015 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?


Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Review: The Grisha Novellas by Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Macmillan
Published: June 2012-April 2014
Pages: 107
Source: Bought
Rating: 4 Stars



The Witch of Duva:
There was a time when the woods near Duva ate girls...or so the story goes. But it’s just possible that the danger may be a little bit closer to home.

The Too-Clever Fox:
In Ravka, just because you avoid one trap, it doesn't mean you'll escape the next.

Little Knife:
In this third Ravkan folk tale from Leigh Bardugo, a beautiful girl finds that what her father wants for her and what she wants for herself are two different things.

When I reviewed The Assassin's Blade, a series of novellas from the Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas, I talked about how THIS was how a novella should be done. Because more often than not, novellas just strike me as being so superfluous and inessential to the series at large, and the reason that the Throne of Glass novellas resonated with me was because they are completely relevant and significant to the overall series story.

Well, I may need to eat my own words here because there are other instances in which I feel like novellas are worthwhile besides just being an essential part of the series story. Case in point: these Ravkan folktales that Leigh Bardugo published that have nothing to do with Alina Starkov's story in Shadow and Bone, but are all relevant to the Grishaverse and the Ravkan culture that we got to experience in Shadow and Bone.

The little hints of Ravkan and Grisha culture that we got to see in Shadow and Bone were my favourite parts of Leigh Bardugo's skilled world building. The best high fantasy stories to me are the ones that seem like they really could be legitimate worlds with an added magical flair, and having an author go that extra mile to think of unique folktales for that world is really special.

And as with folktales in our own world, they all come with their own morals, which is always interesting to decipher. So if you are a fan of The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo and if you enjoyed similar pretend-folktales like The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling, then be sure to check out these Grisha novellas by Leigh Bardugo.

Previously, my reviews of Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising.

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Monday, April 20, 2015

Ratings by Publisher

Not sure if anyone else will have an interest in this, but recently I was curious (and clearly procrastinating on writing my thesis) about what my average rating per publisher would be. In my mind, I have my favourite publishers that are always coming out with books that I WANT NEED - but if I was to calculate the average of the ratings I've given books by these publishers, would they end up with a higher overall rating than the other publishers? Surprisingly, no. The publisher that I was expecting to be my highest average rated publisher was actually my least well rated publisher overall. And the publisher that had the highest overall rating was a pleasant surprise because I wasn't expecting it to rank so high. Anyways, I thought I would share the results of my findings in case anyone else was interested:

Note: My focus here is on the major publishing houses because I had a greater sample size to work with. For a lot of the smaller independent publishing houses, I had only read a few books from each of them and so I was unable to perform thorough analyses. If you're interested though, out of the smaller publishing houses, Candlewick Press came out on top with a solid 5 out of 5 average rating - all down to my love of Patrick Ness.


Penguin


Overall Average Rating: 4.13

Penguin is part of Penguin Random House now, but most of my ratings on this blog are from the time when Penguin and Random House were separate entities so I will be treating them as separate here as well. When separated from Random House, Penguin has my overall highest rating! I was a little surprised by this, but pleasantly so. When looking at my highest rated books from Penguin over the years, most of them are contemporary, which is even more surprising considering I wouldn't consider that my favourite genre at all. Then again, Stephanie Perkins, John Green, and Gayle Forman are all based out of Penguin and I've loved all of their books so far, so maybe it's not so surprising after all.


Hachette Book Group
Overall Average Rating: 4.09

Hachette Book Group was my second overall highest rated publisher. This makes sense to me as I know that some of my most favourite books have come from them over the years. Namely, the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor and Queen Jo's three adult books The Casual Vacancy, The Cuckoo's Calling, and The Silkworm.


Macmillan
Overall Average Rating: 4.05

Macmillan has a pretty high overall rating and of course it would, being the home of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer and The Grisha by Leigh Bardugo - definite faves!!


Random House

Overall Average Rating: 3.83

When separated from Penguin, Random House has a relatively low overall rating. Then again, Random House has also published two of my most heartbreakingly favourite books of all time: The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, so they're still in my good books.


Simon & Schuster

Overall Average Rating: 3.81

Simon & Schuster Publishers is the second least overall rated publisher. It's too bad because once upon a time, I used to think this publisher was the bees knees, until I hit a string of duds from them which has made me a bit more wary of them. Simon & Schuster is the publisher of one of my all-time favourite series, the amazingly well written The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. Without the inclusion of this series, my overall rating for Simon & Schuster would be quite a bit lower.


HarperCollins


Overall Average Rating: 3.80

HarperCollins Publishers was my lowest overall rated publisher. Definitely a shocker because I swear HarperCollins books are always the ones that I get MOST excited about. I often have a hard time narrowing down my top choices when I do my quarterly HarperCollins Waiting on Wednesday Catalogue feature. Maybe it's BECAUSE my HarperCollins TBR is always the biggest and I read the most from them that I end up with a few more duds, whereas I am more selective when it comes to the other publishers? I don't know.


I would be interested to hear what you think about this! Have you ever broken down your average ratings by publisher before? Which publisher would you expect to come out on top? I was surprised with my results!


Sunday, September 14, 2014

Review: Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Published: June 17, 2014
Pages: 417
Source: Bought
Rating: 4.5 Stars


The capital has fallen.
The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.
Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.
Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.
Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

This review is spoiler free

In short: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo is a largely satisfying finale worthy of the series we all love.
And so yet another beloved series of mine comes to an end. It's always hard to say goodbye to a favourite series once you've come to respect and/or love the characters and enjoyed spending time in the beautifully developed fantasy world (although in this case, it seems as though we don't have to say goodbye to this world just yet - Leigh Bardugo is planning another series set in the same universe!). But thankfully the goodbye process is a bit easier when the finale delivers an ending worthy of the series you love - which Ruin and Rising largely did.

Siege and Storm left off in dire straits so it came as no surprise that Ruin and Rising was at times a very broody, dark read. Thankfully, Leigh Bardugo is an expert at weaving in humour even in the darkest of times, alleviating gloom and creating great character moments all at once. Speaking of characters, all of our previous favourites are back, and others that weren't previously favourites surprised me with their charming personalities in Ruin and Rising. The hero's journey is often a lonely one, so it was so nice to have a large cast of characters behind Alina, supporting her cause at every step and playing a critical part in protecting Ravka.

The story is well paced and yet still allows for some important character histories that we have been waiting on, and these backstories finally bring the story together. As for the finale - it was good though not quite as grand and breathtaking as I was hoping it would be, especially because the set-up to the final battle was lengthy. But overall I was pleased with how the story was wrapped up and where the characters ended up - those that survived anyway. I'm sad to see The Grisha Trilogy come to an end, but the ending felt right for the story and for the characters, and I'm sure before we know it we'll have the new Grisha spin-off series from Leigh Bardugo in our greedy little hands.

Previously, my reviews of Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm.

Other Reviews:
Alice Marvels
Courtney Reads A Lot
The Daily Prophecy

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Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Waiting On Wednesday: Macmillan Fall 2014 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 Fall 2014 Catalog:

The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien
Date: September 16, 2014
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The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success:  every moment of the students' lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students' schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What's worse is, she starts to notice that the edges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding—and what it truly means to dream there.

While it is true that I am a bit over dystopians at this point, I still can't help but feel drawn to premises such as the one in The Vault of Dreamers. I feel like I just need to know this ghastly secret that the school is hiding! And I've heard great things about Caragh M. O'Brien's Birthmarked, so I'm definitely curious about this new book of hers!


Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
Date: September 23, 2014
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French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...
After Margherita’s father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.
Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.

Wooo Rapunzel retelling!! Of course I loved such retellings as Cress and Tangled so I feel like I have to read this! Bitter Greens sounds amazing and I love how real history is worked into the story. It's already received a lot of buzz from readers as it was originally released a couple of years ago in Australia, so that's pretty exciting!


Lailah by Nikki Kelly
Date: October 7, 2014
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The girl knows she’s different. She doesn’t age. She has no family. She has visions of a past life, but no clear clues as to what she is, or where she comes from. But there is a face in her dreams – a light that breaks through the darkness. She knows his name is Gabriel.
On her way home from work, the girl encounters an injured stranger whose name is Jonah. Soon, she will understand that Jonah belongs to a generation of Vampires that serve even darker forces. Jonah and the few like him, are fighting with help from an unlikely ally – a rogue Angel, named Gabriel.
In the crossfire between good and evil, love and hate, and life and death, the girl learns her name: Lailah. But when the lines between black and white begin to blur, where in the spectrum will she find her place? And with whom?
Gabriel and Jonah both want to protect her. But Lailah will have to fight her own battle to find out who she truly is.

Okay so, there's definitely a love triangle at play here - which could be disastrous - and it sounds pretty romance-heavy - which is not my kind of thing - and there are vampires and angels - which I'm kind of over at this point -, BUT! Well, Lailah has been getting some pretty smashing early reviews and I have been wrong about romance-heavy paranormals before (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I'm looking at you), so I'm definitely curious about this one. I'll wait for more reviews to come out though before making the decision to read it.


The Accidental Highwayman: Being the Tale of Kit Bristol, His Horse Midnight, a Mysterious Princess, and Sundry Magical Persons Besides by Ben Tripp
Date: October 14, 2014
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In eighteenth-century England, young Christopher “Kit” Bristol is the unwitting servant of notorious highwayman Whistling Jack. One dark night, Kit finds his master bleeding from a mortal wound, dons the man’s riding cloak to seek help, and changes the course of his life forever. Mistaken for Whistling Jack and on the run from redcoats, Kit is catapulted into a world of magic and wonders he thought the stuff of fairy tales.
Bound by magical law, Kit takes up his master’s quest to rescue a rebellious fairy princess from an arranged marriage to King George III of England. But his task is not an easy one, for Kit must contend with the feisty Princess Morgana, goblin attacks, and a magical map that portends his destiny: as a hanged man upon the gallows….

OMG how can you not love that title and accompanying beautiful typography-laden cover?! The Accidental Highwayman sounds like it will follow in the vein of the classical fairy-tale fantasies that we all know and love, so of course I'm ALL over it.


How about you? Are you waiting on any of these Macmillan Fall 2014 reads? Are there any upcoming books from the Macmillan Fall 2014 Catalog that I didn't include here that you feel I should add to my list?