Thursday 31 March 2016

Popular Book Releases of March 2016

So if you've run out of books to read - or are like me and buy a plethora of books even though there are still so many unread on your bookshelf... then look no further and find some books that were newly released in the month of March. Some highly anticipated books -- but please note this is only a small handful of the books released in March!

Lady Midnight
Author: Cassandra Clare
Release date: March 8, 2016
Tags: YA, Science Fiction and Fantasy
Relevant books: Previous series such as The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices and Shadaowhunters Academy. 


The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series.


Rebel of the Sands
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Release date: March 8, 2016
Tags: YA, Fantasy
Relevant books: N/A


She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from. 

Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.


The Serpent King
Author: Jeff Zentner 
Release date: March 8, 2016
Tags: YA, Fantasy, Young Adult, Contemporary
Relevant books: N/A


Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

He and his fellow outcast friends must try to make it through their senior year of high school without letting the small-town culture destroy their creative spirits and sense of self. Graduation will lead to new beginnings for Lydia, whose edgy fashion blog is her ticket out of their rural Tennessee town. And Travis is content where he is thanks to his obsession with an epic book series and the fangirl turning his reality into real-life fantasy.

Their diverging paths could mean the end of their friendship. But not before Dill confronts his dark legacy to attempt to find a way into the light of a future worth living.


The Moth and the Flame (A Novella)
Author: Renee Adieh 
Release date: March 22 2016
Tags: YA, Fantasy, Young Adult, Contemporary, Science Fiction
Relevant books: The Wrath and the Dawn (book one)


It started as playful, if barbed, banter before rising to a fateful wager with a most notorious rake—the Captain of the Guard, Jalal al-Khoury—who may have finally met his match in a lovely, if haughty, handmaiden, Despina. But she, too, seems to have met her match in the handsome Jalal. What begins as a tempestuous battle of will and wit in short order becomes a passionate affair spurred on by tragedy of the worst kind





The Winner's Kiss
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Release date: March 29 2016
Tags: YA, Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction
Relevant books: The Winner's Curse (book one), The Winner's Crime (book two)


War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win?


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Check out Amazon here to pick up your own copies of these books!

Obsidian - A Book Review

OBSIDIAN (LUX SERIES BOOK 1)
- Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
- Publication date: 8 May 2012
- Tags: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young-aduilt 


OBSIDIAN is one of the first books I read from JL Armentrout, who quickly became one of my favorite authors. Her writing style is absolutely wonderful, and her humor is very fresh which is an aspect I love from all of her stories. This book I recently re-read, because I was in a bit of a reading slump - and when that happens my TBR starts to feel like a massive weight on my shoulders. One of the best ways to get out of that slump? To read a book you know you love, one that will re-establish your love for reading and get you back in the mood. That's what OBSIDIAN has recently done for me. So I thought I'd grace it with a well-deserved book review, since I hadn't started this blog when I first read it. 

OBSIDIAN was also one of my first sci-fi alien stories I had ever read. I wasn't so big on aliens, and have since read and watched many alien themed stories and TV shows, purely because of this book. Thanks JLA!! This story follows a teenage girl by the name of Katy, who is a normal girl, moving to a small town with her mother a few years after the death of her father. A way to get away, start fresh. One of the things that immediately drew me to Katy's character was her passion for one thing - books! She blogged and she even vlogged about the books she read, and reviewed them online. The way her delight and excitement was described when she received book mail was so accurate that I fell in love with her almost immediately. Katy from OBSIDIAN, is one of the reason I first started blogging about books, or wanting to be doing something along those lines. So thanks again, JLA - you seem to be shaping who I am! 

What starts Katy's story is her meeting of the strangers next door, starting off the with the incredibly sexy and incredibly annoying and rude Daemon Black. He is quite vicious when is comes to Katy, and she has no idea why, which only escalates when she commences a friendship with his twin sister Dee Black. Katy can tell that there are some massive secrets that his family is keeping from not only her, but the entire town and world. Then one night, something happens - Katy is almost smooshed into the ground by a truck, but it stops inches from her face... frozen by the alien next door, saving her life. Now that she is privy to the secret, Daemon's animosity somewhat grows, but it is clear it grows along with his affection for Katy. Now, if you enjoyed Jace from The Mortal Instruments with his general snarkiness, just wait until you meet Daemon. What's more, is that Katy rivals his snarkiness and gives back what is given. She holds her own, which I really enjoy! 

An interesting aspect that I very much enjoyed from this book, was the effect that alien "magic" has on humans. When Daemon stopped the truck to save Katy's life, his magic left a mark on her, which fades over time. The mark is described as an aura of light around Katy, which only the Luxen (alien race) can see, along with (unfortunately), the Arum - who are the Luxen's enemy alien race. The Arum can track this aura of light to the human and attempt to torture them to locate the Luxen to kill them, and steal their light. This puts Katy in a real amount of danger, and it is up to Daemon to protect her - much to Katy's dismay. This makes this novel absolutely chock full of action and wit, and is just a stunning read altogether. I could probably read this over and over and still swoon over Daemon every time. Yup, even when I'm 50. 

FAVORITE QUOTE 


Daemon's loyalty, underneath his mask of indifference and snark, is unwavering and it's one of the great things about reading this book. This is further explored in the novel that was recently released, Oblivian, which is OBSIDIAN, but told from Daemon's point of view instead of Katy's. 








MY RATING 


4.5/5 - I pretty much never give out a 5 star rating, so this basically means this books is so close to perfect it ain't even funny. Would I recommend this books to others? Heck to the yes I would.

OTHER BOOKS

These are the re-vamped covers of the Lux Series. Lux Beginnings encapsulates book 1 and 2 Obsidian and Onyx. Lux Consequences is Book 3 and 4, Opal and Origin, Opposition is book 5.


DESCRIPTION (as at Amazon.com)

Starting over sucks.When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.And then he opened his mouth.Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.The hot alien living next door marks me.You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.If I don't kill him first, that is.

Pick up your own copy here

Wednesday 30 March 2016

Popular Book Releases of February 2016

Alright, don't you say it cause I will... CHLOE IT'S THE END OF MARCH! Yeah I know, and I'm playing catch up. Unacceptable. But here we go anyway, here is a list of very much anticipated book releases that occurred in Feb this year, and shortly to come will be a list of the March release, so you don't miss out on the great books this year! (this will only be featuring a handful of the books released in February).


Starflight
Author: Melissa Landers
Release date: February 2, 2016
Tags: YA, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Teen
Relevant books: N/A


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...



Stars Above
Author: Marissa Meyer
Release date: February 2, 2016
Tags: YA, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Teen
Relevant books: The Lunar Chronicles (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Winter, and a novella Fairest)


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.

The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles.
Glitches: In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch….
The Queen’s Army: In this prequel to Scarlet, we’re introduced to the army Queen Levana is building, and one soldier in particular who will do anything to keep from becoming the monster they want him to be.
Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles.
The Keeper: A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit.
After Sunshine Passes By: In this prequel to Cress, we see how a nine-year-old Cress ended up alone on a satellite, spying on Earth for Luna.
The Princess and the Guard: In this prequel to Winter, we see a game called The Princess
The Mechanic: In this prequel to Cinder, we see Kai and Cinder’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective.
Something Old, Something New: In this epilogue to Winter, friends gather for the wedding of the century...



Glass Sword
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Release date: February 9, 2016
Tags: YA, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Teen
Relevant books: Red Queen (book one)


 Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. 

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. 

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. 

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.


The Power
Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
Release date: February 23, 2016
Tags: YA, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Teen
Relevant books: The Return (Book One), also this is a Spin-off series to a previously set Covenant Series, where Seth was a side character. 

With any great change, there is always strife, and the Covenant University has become the frontline between pure-bloods who want the Breed Order reinstated and the half-bloods who want the right to control their own destinies.

Fate has other plans.

 The violence is escalating and war between the races seems inevitable, and it couldn’t come at a worse time. Hyperion may be out of commission, but Josie and Seth know they have only earned a reprieve.  Seth must get Josie fully prepared, which means controlling her newfound abilities, and they need to find the other demigods before the Titans do.

But the gods are sensing a greater threat. 

Only one thing is more dangerous than a bunch of starved Titans, and that’s an out-of-control Apollyon. The aether in Josie is drawing Seth in deeper, and when lust mixes with love and gives way to power, he knows being close to her is not only dangerous to her, but to everyone around them, but letting her go requires a level of selflessness that just isn’t Seth’s style.

The paths taken in the past are becoming the roads of the future.

Just as chaos breaks out, familiar faces from the past return, complicating the already strained bond between Josie and Seth, and when the danger from the Titans erupts with devastating consequences, the dark allure of power calls to Seth again, but this time Josie might not be able to pull him back.

 And when the struggle between power and love becomes the deadliest battleground, there may be no salvation.

A Gathering of Shadows
Author: V.E Schwab 
Release date: February 23, 2016
Tags: YA, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Teen
Relevant books: A Darker Shade of Magic (Book one)

Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift, and into Black London.

In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games—an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries—a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again—meaning that another London must fall.

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So that's all folks! Hope you've been successful in finding your next read. If not, why not mosey around Amazon? (Which is where these descriptions came from xD)

The Mortal Instruments - A Series Review

The Mortal Instruments (TMI)

Books in series:
- City of Bones
- City of Ashes
- City of Glass
- City of Fallen Angels 
- City of Lost Souls
- City of Heavenly Fire
Author: Cassandra Clare 
Dates of Publication: From March 27, 2007 onwards, last book in TMI series was published on May 27, 2014. However there are many other books in this world, featured in different spin-off series. 
Tags: YA, science fiction and fantasy, teens


THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS is a series of books that I started reading as a teenager. At 17 years of age, diving into a world like this that Cassandra Clare brought to us, was akin to diving into other favorite childhood reads - such as Harry Potter. The characters, as they were set at roughly my own age, were very relatable to me and therefore I looked forward to each and every installment so I could follow these characters through this incredible journey.

True to my word - I always give an honest opinion about what I think of stories. When I first read City of Bones, I blew through it in a very short period of time, and was loving it... until I reached the end. I won't add spoilers, however most people would know to what I refer when I first and foremost threw my book down and shouted "WHAT! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME CASSIE?!? WHYYY!?" Buuut... I still picked up a copy of City of Ashes, and I sort of slogged my way through this one. It still had it's interesting story and characters, which I enjoyed - but there was such an undertone of awkwardness and (ickiness) that I just didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did the first book. Then came the godsend - City of Glass. What a miracle this book was! It was such an amazing story, with a very relieving end to a few plots which were very heart-warming. The success as a set of stories (in my eyes) grew from City of Glass, and only got better through the rest of the series up until its finale in City of Heavenly Fire - which was epic.

SO... to back track a tiny tad - I will give you a few details about this series if you've never read them. However this post is more for the already present fandom, so I can share my thoughts (given I actually only FINALLY read City of Heavenly fire a few months ago to be ready for Lady Midnight - but more on that later), and allow others to share theirs. Because, I mean really... if you haven't read or heard of the Shadowhunter world, that is just odd, and clearly you've been avoiding most popular reading holes. OR you're like a lot of others and think it's too old of a series to get into now, the fandoms too big and I'm too behind. BS! You can always marathon a stunning series like this and get straight onto that band wagon - trust me - it's worth it. It's a fantastical world with many great characters that will stay with you forever.

Oh right... about the book. The TMI series is set in New York City, largely following a 16 year old teenager by the name of Clarissa (Clary) Fray. She is normal human being, up until the point where she discovers she... well, isn't. She stumbles upon a race of people who are called shadowhunters, half human, half angel who are sworn to protect humans (mundanes) from the shadow world i,e evil icky slimy demons that roam the cities reaping havoc. It is after this that she learns she has a most interesting heritage that she had grown up being magically modified to forget by her own mother - who is now missing. Clary joins with the group of New York shadowhunters, sullen and closeted Alec who is the brother of feisty and beautiful Isabelle, and the snarky and sexy god-like warrior Jace - all with her best friend and mundane Simon. Clary is determine to find her mother and will stop at nothing until she figures out how to save her, and how to get all of her memories back and discover the true nature of her past.

Also City of Bones was made into a film - which I've reviewed here ... it was alriiiight. It has also been made into a show call Shadowhunters, which I'm honestly not liking at all. Sorry if you like it - I wholeheartedly want it to be successful and have high hopes they'll find their feet and become great, but the differences are too much and I don't enjoy it right now.

FAVORITE CHARACTER 

Easy - Simon. He's the best friend anyone could ever ask for, he's always straight up, loyal, funny and he's also cute as a button.

FAVORITE SHIP

Also easy - Sizzy (Simon and Isabelle).

FAVORITE QUOTE

Now that's too hard, as I'm reviewing SIX books here, but if I had to pick one it'd be: "To love is to destroy, and to be loved is the one to be destroyed" - only because this transformation of mindsets and past experiences is mind-blowing.

MY RATING


4/5 stars - it's a great world, and I would highly recommend it to others.

DESCRIPTION: (as at Amazon.com)

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.


OTHER BOOKS IN THIS WORLD: 

The infernal devices (set in the past prior to the TMI series)
- Clockwork Angel
- Clockwork Prince
- Clockwork Princess

The Dark Artifices
- Lady Midnight

Stand-alone
- Bane Chronicles

Shadowhunters Academy

Pick up your own copy of the first book, City of Bones here