Literary Legionnaire

Literary Legionnaire Turns Three!!!

2018-06-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! Soooooo it's been a long time and I'm sorry :( Life has been really hectic since last summer and I have barely read anything the past few months and have had basically no time for reading or blogging or any of this. I'm hoping to pick it up again for real this summer and hope to be more consistent throughout the year. But I figured I should post because it's technically my third blogoversary and even though I've deteriorated a bit over the past year, I'm still really proud of what I've made here and all the amazing people I've met and the community I've become a part of. So I don't have much to say in terms of how my blog's grown the past year since it hasn't (oops), and I forgot to write a blogoversary post last year (double oops), but I just want to say a major THANK YOU to everyone who's been here from the start and to everyone who has supported me throughout any stage of this little blog. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. You truly know how to make a book nerd happy. Here's to a better, more productive blogging year to come.

Waiting on Wednesday (115)

2018-04-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

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

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Page Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: June 5, 2018

About From Twinkle, with Love (via Goodreads):

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

Waiting on Wednesday (114)

2018-04-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

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

Furyborn by Claire Legrand
Series: The Empirium Trilogy #1
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 512 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: May 22, 2018

About Furyborn (via Goodreads):

The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

Top Ten of 2017

2018-04-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

3.5 months late, but I figured I should still share some of my favorites from last year, so here we go!

Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Windwitch by Susan Dennard
A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy

Waiting on Wednesday (113)

2018-04-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

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

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, edited by Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Mythology
Page Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: June 26, 2018

About A Thousand Beginnings and Endings (via Goodreads):

Star-crossed lovers, meddling immortals, feigned identities, battles of wits, and dire warnings. These are the stuff of fairy tale, myth, and folklore that have drawn us in for centuries.

Fifteen bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.

Compiled by We Need Diverse Books’s Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman, the authors included in this exquisite collection are: Renee Ahdieh, Sona Charaipotra, Preeti Chhibber, Roshani Chokshi, Aliette de Bodard, Melissa de la Cruz, Julie Kagawa, Rahul Kanakia, Lori M. Lee, E. C. Myers, Cindy Pon, Aisha Saeed, Shveta Thakrar, and Alyssa Wong.

A mountain loses her heart. Two sisters transform into birds to escape captivity. A young man learns the true meaning of sacrifice. A young woman takes up her mother’s mantle and leads the dead to their final resting place. From fantasy to science fiction to contemporary, from romance to tales of revenge, these stories will beguile readers from start to finish. For fans of Neil Gaiman’s Unnatural Creatures and Ameriie’s New York Times–bestselling Because You Love to Hate Me.

Waiting on Wednesday (112)

2018-04-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

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

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: July 31, 2018

About Sea Witch (via Goodreads):

Everyone knows what happens in the end.

A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss.

But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends.

One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

The rise of Hans Christian Andersen’s iconic villainess is a heart-wrenching story of friendship, betrayal, and a girl pushed beyond her limits—to become a monster.

Waiting on Wednesday (111)

2018-03-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

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

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
Series: trilogy #1
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 24, 2018

About Ash Princess (via Goodreads):

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Queen of Flame and Fury, was murdered before her eyes. Ten years later, Theo has learned to survive under the relentless abuse of the Kaiser and his court as the ridiculed “Ash Princess.” Pretending to be empty-headed and naive when she's not enduring brutal whippings, she pushes down all other thoughts but one: Keep the Kaiser happy and he will keep you safe.

When the Kaiser forces her to execute her last hope of rescue, Theo can't keep her feelings and memories pushed down any longer. She vows revenge, throwing herself into a plot to seduce and murder the Kaiser's warrior son with the help of a group of magically gifted and volatile rebels. But Theo doesn't expect to develop feelings for the Prinz. Or for her rebel allies to challenge her friendship with the one person who's been kind to her throughout the last hopeless decade: her heart's sister, Cress.

Cornered into impossible choices and unable to trust even those who are on her side, Theo will have to decide how far she's willing to go to save her people and how much of herself she's willing to sacrifice to become queen.

Waiting on Wednesday (110)

2018-03-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Page Length: 304 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 15, 2018

About Girl Made of Stars (via Goodreads):

For readers of Girl in Pieces and The Way I Used to Be comes an emotionally gripping story about facing hard truths in the aftermath of sexual assault.

Mara and Owen are as close as twins can get, so when Mara’s friend Hannah accuses Owen of rape, Mara doesn't know what to think. Can her brother really be guilty of such a violent act? Torn between her family and her sense of right and wrong, Mara feels lost, and it doesn’t help that things are strained with her ex-girlfriend, Charlie. As Mara, Hannah, and Charlie come together in the aftermath of this terrible crime, Mara must face a trauma from her own past and decide where Charlie fits into her future. With sensitivity and openness, this timely novel confronts the difficult questions surrounding consent, victim blaming, and sexual assault.

Waiting on Wednesday (109)

2018-03-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

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

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Page Length: 480 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 20, 2018

About The Astonishing Color of After (via Goodreads):

Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird.

Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her best friend and longtime secret crush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life.

Alternating between real and magic, past and present, friendship and romance, hope and despair, The Astonishing Color of After is a novel about finding oneself through family history, art, grief, and love.

Waiting on Wednesday (108)

2018-03-07T16:02:00.000-05:00

And She Was by Jessica Verdi
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Page Length: 353 pages
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: March 27th, 2018

About And She Was (via Goodreads):

Dara’s lived a sheltered life with her single mom, Mellie. Now, at eighteen, she’s dreaming of more. When Dara digs up her never-before-seen birth certificate, her world implodes. Why are two strangers listed as her parents? Dara confronts her mother, and is stunned by what she learns: Mellie is transgender. The unfamiliar name listed under “father”? That’s Mellie. She transitioned when Dara was a baby, shortly after Dara’s birth mother died. But Dara still has more questions than answers. Reeling, she sets off on a road trip with her best guy friend, Sam. She's determined to find the extended family she’s never met. What she discovers—and what her mother reveals, piece by piece over emails—will challenge and change Dara more than she can imagine. From rising star Jessica Verdi, this is a gorgeous, timely, and essential novel about the importance of being our true selves.

Waiting on Wednesday (107)

2018-02-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

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

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Series: The Illuminae Files #3
Genre: Young Adult/Sci-Fi
Page Length: 608 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 13, 2018

About Obsidio (via Goodreads):

Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they’ll find seven months after the invasion? Meanwhile, Kady’s cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza’s ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha’s past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heros will fall, and hearts will be broken.

HOW CAN I NOT BE EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK??? I absolutely loved Illuminae and Gemina, and CANNOT WAIT to see how the trilogy concludes.

Waiting on Wednesday (106)

2018-02-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

In Search Of by Ava Dellaria
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Page Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication Date: March 6, 2018

About In Search Of (via Goodreads):

The author of the beloved Love Letters to the Dead returns with a parallel story of a mother and daughter each at age seventeen. Marilyn's tale recounts the summer she fell in love and set out on her own path. Angie's story is about her search for her unknown father. This sweeping multi-generational love story introduces readers to mother-and-daughter pair Marilyn and Angie. To seventeen-year-old Angie, who is mixed-race, Marilyn is her hardworking, devoted white single mother. But Marilyn was once young, too. When Marilyn was seventeen, she fell in love with Angie's father, James, who was African-American. But Angie's never met him, and Marilyn has always told her he died before she was born. When Angie discovers evidence of an uncle she's never met she starts to wonder: What if her dad is still alive, too? So she sets off on a journey to find him, hitching a ride to LA from her home in New Mexico with her ex-boyfriend, Sam. Along the way, she uncovers some hard truths about herself, her mother, and what truly happened to her father.

Waiting on Wednesday (105)

2018-02-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

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

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary/LGBTQIA+
Page Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: April 24, 2018

About Leah on the Offbeat (via Goodreads):

Leah Burke—girl-band drummer, master of deadpan, and Simon Spier’s best friend from the award-winning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda—takes center stage in this novel of first love and senior-year angst.

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended.

Waiting on Wednesday (104)

2018-02-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

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

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Genre: Young Adult/Graphic Novels
Page Length: 288 pages
Publisher: First Second
Publication Date: February 13, 2018

About The Prince and the Dressmaker (via Goodreads):

Paris, at the dawn of the modern age: Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride―or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia―the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion! Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances―one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.

Waiting on Wednesday (103)

2018-01-31T00:00:00.001-05:00

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

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
Genre: Middle Grade/Fantasy
Page Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Disney/Rick Riordan Presents
Publication Date: March 27, 2018

About Aru Shah and the End of Time (via Goodreads):

Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she'll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from their latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur?

One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru's doorstep to catch her in a lie. They don't believe her claim that the museum's Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again.

But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it's up to Aru to save them.

The only way to stop the demon is to find the reincarnations of the five legendary Pandava brothers, protagonists of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and journey through the Kingdom of Death. But how is one girl in Spider-Man pajamas supposed to do all that?

Waiting on Wednesday (102)

2018-01-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

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

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce
Series: The Numair Chronicles #1, Tortall #8
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 480 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 6, 2018

About Tempests and Slaughter (via Goodreads):

Arram. Varice. Ozorne. In the first book in the Numair Chronicles, three student mages are bound by fate . . . fated for trouble. Arram Draper is a boy on the path to becoming one of the realm’s most powerful mages. The youngest student in his class at the Imperial University of Carthak, he has a Gift with unlimited potential for greatness–and for attracting danger. At his side are his two best friends: Varice, a clever girl with an often-overlooked talent, and Ozorne, the “leftover prince” with secret ambitions. Together, these three friends forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms. And as Ozorne gets closer to the throne and Varice gets closer to Arram’s heart, Arram begins to realize that one day soon he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie. In the Numair Chronicles, readers will be rewarded with the never-before-told story of how Numair Salmalín came to Tortall. Newcomers will discover an unforgettable fantasy adventure where a kingdom’s future rests on the shoulders of a talented young man with a knack for making vicious enemies.

Waiting on Wednesday (101)

2018-01-17T00:00:00.002-05:00

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

Sightwitch by Susan Dennard
Series: The Witchlands #0.5
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 208 pages
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: February 13, 2018

About Sightwitch (via Susan Dennard):

Before Safi and Iseult battled a Bloodwitch…

Before Merik returned from the dead…

Ryber Fortiza was a Sightwitch Sister at a secluded convent, waiting to be called by her goddess into the depths of the mountain. There she would receive the gift of foretelling. But when that call never comes, Ryber finds herself the only Sister without the Sight.

Years pass and Ryber’s misfit pain becomes a dull ache, until one day, Sisters who already possess the Sight are summoned into the mountain, never to return. Soon enough, Ryber is the only Sister left. Now, it is up to her to save her Sisters, though she does not have the Sight—and though she does not know what might await her inside the mountain.

On her journey underground, she encounters a young captain named Kullen Ikray, who has no memory of who he is or how he got there. Together, the two journey ever deeper in search of answers, their road filled with horrors, and what they find at the end of that road will alter the fate of the Witchlands forever.

Sightwitch—available February 13—is an illustrated tale set in the Witchlands and told through Ryber’s journal entries and sketches.

I AM SO SO SO EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK. I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE WITCHLANDS SERIES SO FAR AND CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT RYBER. AND THE EXCERPT WAS SO AMAZING AND I KNOW THE WHOLE BOOK WILL BE TOO.

Waiting on Wednesday (100)

2018-01-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

Interlude by Chantele Sedgwick
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Page Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Publication Date: February 13, 2018

About Interlude (via Goodreads):

When eighteen-year-old Mia Cox finds out she's not a match to donate a kidney to save her younger sister's life, she jumps on a plane to New York, convinced she can talk their estranged birth mother into donating hers instead. After an embarrassing conversation with the cute boy sitting next to her for the flight, she realizes he's the one and only Jaxton Scott, the troubled lead singer of a famous rock band she hates--and he's running away from his rock star life. As the hours pass and they get to know each other, she finds herself opening up to him like she never has to anyone, even though he's a total stranger. Which is fine, since she'll never see him again. But when her trip to New York doesn't go as planned, and a phone call from her sister changes everything she had planned, Mia knows she must put her trust in fate and her new friend, even though she's lost all reason to hope.

2018 Beat the Backlist Challenge

2018-01-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Beat the Backlist Challenge was created by Novel Knight to encourage us to read books that were released in past years. As someone who is always behind on my reading, I still want to read all those incredible books I've missed out on in the past without feeling bad about skipping books that are coming out. I feel like there's kind of a pressure with that as a blogger/person in the bookish community to stay on top of all the new releases and that isn't always possible? I don't know (but side note: a great video kind of about that is by Ariel Bissett!)

I don't really have a set goal in mind in terms of number, but I was thinking maybe proportionally, at least 1/3 of my reading this coming year be backlist?

Waiting on Wednesday (99)

2018-01-03T00:00:00.001-05:00

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

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary/LGBTQIA+
Page Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: January 30, 2018

About The Dangerous Art of Blending In (via Goodreads):

Seventeen-year-old Evan Panos doesn’t know where he fits in. His strict Greek mother refuses to see him as anything but a disappointment. His quiet, workaholic father is a staunch believer in avoiding any kind of conflict. And his best friend Henry has somehow become distractingly attractive over the summer.

Tired, isolated, scared—Evan’s only escape is drawing in an abandoned church that feels as lonely as he is. And, yes, he kissed one guy over the summer. But it’s his best friend Henry who’s now proving to be irresistible. It’s Henry who suddenly seems interested in being more than friends. And it’s Henry who makes him believe that he’s more than his mother’s harsh words and terrifying abuse. But as things with Henry heat up, and his mother’s abuse escalates, Evan has to decide how to find his voice in a world where he has survived so long by avoiding attention at all costs.

Waiting on Wednesday (98)

2017-12-27T00:00:00.003-05:00

The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara
Genre: Young Adult/Historical Fiction
Page Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Publication Date: February 6, 2018

About The Unbinding of Mary Reade (via Goodreads):

A swashbuckling, smart novel based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack. There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mother, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy granny, where a girl could never be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a hired sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s profession—and her safety—depend on her ability to disguise the fact that she’s a girl. Leastways, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and right in the middle of the swashbuckling crowd of bloodthirsty pirates, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate. The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain and earns herself a spot among the pirates’ crew. For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living life as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything—her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life.

Waiting on Wednesday (97)

2017-12-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

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

Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/LGBTQIA+
Page Length: 303 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: January 23, 2018

About Reign of the Fallen (via Goodreads):

An LGBT fantasy series that follows a talented necromancer who must face down a deadly nemesis who has learned how to turn her magic into a weapon.

Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

A lavish fantasy with a surprising and breathtaking LGBT romance at its core, Reign of the Fallen is a gutsy, unpredictable read that will grab readers by the throat and never let go....

Waiting on Wednesday (96)

2017-12-13T00:00:00.001-05:00

Runaways: An Original Novel by Christopher Golden
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Superheroes/Young Adult
Page Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Marvel Press
Publication Date: January 2, 2018

About Runaways (via Goodreads):

"The Pride, back in L.A.? Their parents, alive? Karolina had never realized hope and fear could feel so much alike." Written by New York Times best-selling author Christopher Golden, Runaways: An Original Novel is a fresh take on the Marvel fan favorite. Including the first issue of the revived Runaways comic series written by Rainbow Rowell and with art by Kris Anka, it's easy for fans of the comics, fans of the new Hulu TV show, and first-time readers to all enjoy this new take on an old classic. Turns out murderous Super Villains don't make for good parents. The Runaways had no choice. They had to kill them. Well, more or less. Now Nico, Karolina, Gert, Chase, and Molly are on the run again, hiding out and trying to regain a sense of normalcy. But kids with super powers don't get to be normal. The city is overrun with criminals, each faction bent on murdering them for one reason or another. It's only when the Runaways uncover the truth behind their parents' past that they realize the evil isn't just in L.A.

So I've heard in comparison to DC, Marvel YA novels are not great. Actually they're known for
deviating too much and just being meh. But I adore Runaways (and y'all should really watch
the Hulu show), so I have *some* hope.

Starflight (Review)

2017-12-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

Starflight by Melissa Landers
Series: Starflight #1
Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction
Page Length: 369 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

About Starflight (via Goodreads):

Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith. When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...

I think the best way to describe my thoughts about this book are "GUYS, THERE ARE SPACE PIRATES IN THIS NOVEL."

But on a serious note, I am not really sure what I expected out of this novel. Everything surprised me, in a good way! The galaxies and just the overall world that Landers had constructed in Starflight are of the highest standard; it was expansive, imaginative, colorful, and an overall joy to read about. It was the perfect backdrop to this surprisingly layered and complex story about a ragtag group of misfits finding a family with each other.

I love YA books that try to incorporate other sub-genres into their novel, and Starflight is a great example of how it incorporated space opera along with their heavy sci-fi in this novel. The book had this epic, grandiose feel to it, and you could feel the weight of time passing with each segment of the novel. I've already gushed about the world of Starflight, its visuals, its creativity, and its coolness (again, SPACE PIRATES. WHAT). The characters of Starflight felt like they were pulled out of a short yet stellar sci-fi TV show, and all stood out on their own while simultaneously working well together. You could start to see the bond of the crew form within each moment of time you see them on the Banshee. And at the same time, Starflight felt really accessible and enjoyable with Landers' writing and her characters guiding me on the right path through the vast unknown of space.
Landers’ 3rd person writing had this awe-like wonder for the world around it, and Landers’ love for it only spread out even further to the audience. Every new planet they travelled by or landed on felt important and special, and Landers did a great job of fleshing everything out to truly build the galaxy around her. When I was reading Starflight, I felt like a kid in her universe, looking up at the huge world around me that Landers has written about, building up my dreams to one day take a spaceship and sail to every nook and cranny of the universe that Landers had written about.

Additionally, she also did a great job utilizing the 3rd person writing to convey the wider atmosphere of Solara and Doran’s thoughts. When she first switched perspectives, I was a little confused and taken out for a bit, but intrigued. Now I think that the whole story would have been much poorer if she stuck with a double first person narrative. The greatest thing about this technique was that she could show all of Solara and Doran’s flaws. One of the best things about the two protagonists was that they were simply not perfect. They started off - and had to resort to being - pretty bad people. But they grow throughout the novel in a very organic way filled with dry humor and wit that charms the readers. While their relationship did end in a cliche way, Landers eased this in with a sense of anticipation built up from the readers to deliver an emotional but tried-and-true payoff.

My other complaints with the novel were more nitpicky; otherwise, reading this novel was an absolute adventure from start to finish. It was tragic and uplifting at once, hyper-funny and super serious, and a great roller coaster read if you're really looking for something fun.

MY RATING: 3.5 STARS

Waiting on Wednesday (95)

2017-12-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

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

Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Page Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: January 16, 2018

About Blood and Sand (via Goodreads):

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....

Roma Victor. The Republic of Rome is on a relentless march to build 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....