Scarlet Guard Mission: Glass Sword Book Trailer

As an agent of the Scarlet Guard, it is my duty to share with you the trailer for the newest book in the Red Queen series, Glass Sword.

What an epic story, what an exciting new chapter in Mare's story. Be sure to pre-order it as soon as possible.

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books-a-million
Books-a-million (Signed)
IndieBound
IndieBound (Signed)

Top 10 Tuesday: Top Ten New-To-Me Favorite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015

2015 was the year when I really started reading a lot of young adult and middle grade books. I think I have my discovery of Booktube to thank for that. Thus, it is going to be difficult to choose only ten because there are so many authors that I've found due to Booktube talking about them and friends I've made through Booktube recommending other books to me.

If possible, I've included the title by the mentioned author that I first read, even if I've gone on to read the rest of the series. Let's see how I do, shall we?

1. Daniel O'Malley, author of The Rook














2. Marie Lu, author of The Young Elites

3. Charlie M. Homburg, author of The Paper Magician

                                      

4. Tessa Elwood, author of Inherit the Stars

5. Alys Arden, author of The Casquette Girls

6. Susan Dennard, author of Something Strange and Deadly

7. Lauren DeStefano, author of A Curious Tale of the In-between

8. Ransom Riggs, author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

9. Sarah J. Maas, author of Throne of Glass

10. Jon Layman, author of Chew

Review: Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood

Three royal houses ruling three interplanetary systems are on the brink of collapse, and they must either ally together or tear each other apart in order for their people to survive.

Asa is the youngest daughter of the house of Fane, which has been fighting a devastating food and energy crisis for far too long. She thinks she can save her family’s livelihood by posing as her oldest sister in an arranged marriage with Eagle, the heir to the throne of the house of Westlet. The appearance of her mother, a traitor who defected to the house of Galton, adds fuel to the fire, while Asa also tries to save her sister Wren's life . . . possibly from the hands of their own father.

But as Asa and Eagle forge a genuine bond, will secrets from the past and the urgent needs of their people in the present keep them divided?

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4 Stars

From the description, this book sounded like it would be heavy and complicated, what with all the interplanetary problems that are hinted at. While there were a whole host of difficulties and it was a bit clunky at times, I found this book to be very cool.

Even with minimal world building I got sucked into the conflict that is surrounding Asa as her story begins. There are clues to just how bad things are and how long they've been that way. I would have enjoyed hearing more about the history of the Triplicate (the grouping of Three Houses and their planets).

From the first page you're thrown into battle and feel the intense fear that Asa has, not only for her people, but for herself and her sister as well.

Asa's motives for what she does in order to save her family are clear, but what I'd like to have found out is why she's done half the things she's done. I mean, why does Wren mean so much to her rather than Emmie, her middle sister?

I felt like I ought to hate Lord and Lady Westlet, but I could understand how things looked from their side, which is unusual. Normally I'd expect to be lead one way or the other in terms of House allegiance, but I got them as characters. The twists that appear in the form of other characters from the past popping up had me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see where this new plot line was going to lead.

Sometimes Asa seemed a lot younger than I thought she was meant to be. Some parts of the novel that were describing her feelings toward Eagle and toward the whole arrangement felt like the diary of a pre-teen. These parts moved by quickly, though, so we could get back to the main plot which only got more treacherous for Asa as time wore on.

For all the slow bits, as I mentioned they do move quickly and I found myself at the end of the story within short order which infuriated me because I don't know when book two is coming out!

Music Recommendation

Granted, the video doesn't really fit with the original anime it's from or this book, but the lyrics and the feeling I got from the music really made me think of Asa and Eagle and their situation throughout the book, even before they meet one another.

This song is I'm Alive by Becca; it's the ending for the anime Black Butler.

Sunday Street Team Review: The Year of Lightning by Ryan Dalton

Welcome to my first review as a part of Nori's Sunday Street Team. Today I'm going to be reviewing The Year of Lightning by Ryan Dalton. It's an interesting read full of mystery, time travel, and a whole lot of wacky stuff. Read on to see how I liked it and at the end, there's a Rafflecopter where you can enter to win your own ARC of this debut novel.

When 15-year-old twins Malcolm and Valentine Gilbert moved to a new town, they never imagined that the old house across the street could bring them so much trouble. A secret machine has reawakened inside, with the power to pierce time itself.

Meanwhile, lightning storms are breaking out all over town. They’re getting worse every week, and seem to enjoy striking kids who just want to pass science class and mind their own business. When Malcolm and Valentine discover a connection between the house and the storms, their situation goes from mysterious to crazy stupid dangerous. Someone is controlling the great machine, and their purpose is nearly complete.

In a race against time, the twins must uncover the chilling plan, the mastermind behind it, and the force that’s driving the deadly storms. They’ll hunt a powerful enemy that threatens their town’s existence, and the only clues are written in the sky. 

About the Author:

Ryan Dalton is author of the young adult Time Shift Trilogy. His debut novel THE YEAR OF LIGHTNING will be released on December 8, 2015. Ryan splits his time between writing books during the day, fighting crime at night, and hanging out in his awesome underground lair. Please do not tell anyone he's Batman. It's a secret.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

This book started out slowly for me. The premise sounded like something I would be interested in, so of course I jumped at the chance to read it. Once I settled down to read it, though, I had some issues getting to the real meat of the story. The first 25% of the story was fine, but there was something about the pacing that made me feel like it was taking forever to get to the plot. I wanted to keep reading, but I wasn't enormously excited anymore.

Once Malcolm began actively looking into the house across the street, the mysterious domicile with no doors, things began picking up and I wasn't sure what sort of book I was reading anymore.

The family dynamic was interesting. It wasn't that unusual to have a family where one parent is gone and the other is lost to depression or some such thing, but I did like that the twins got along. I'd usually expect to see them pitted against each other, vastly differing interests, that sort of thing. However, Valentine and Malcolm turned out to be something else and that was good, particularly considering the situation they find themselves facing.

The pacing was still a little bit slow for my taste, but the imagery and the plot really started picking up. The first moment was when Malcolm discovered the watch and began to examine it more closely. The description of it and what it did had me feeling Malcolm's wonder. That is when things started accelerating for me.

It felt like the plot went crazy. There's time travel, a bad guy, insane things that no teenager should be able to go through, but Mal, Valentine, and their friends managed it. I like books where, as unbelievable as it can be, teenagers face insurmountable odds and come out on top. Every once in awhile it's good to pick up a novel like The Year of Lightning and suspend your belief in the possible for 300+ pages.

Music Recommendation

Lindsey Stirling's Elements song felt like it had just enough deep, soulful meaning to it to remind me of The Year of Lightning. The house with no doors sounded like the beginning of a spooky old tale and there are several chords in this song that give me the same feeling.

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Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Audiobooks

I like listening to audiobooks when I'm doing work in my office. It makes things go a lot faster and infinitely more enjoyable. These are some of the best ones I've found to date:

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, narrated by Emily Gray

I think that I borrowed this title from the library for a road trip. The book is funny enough as it is because, let's face it, Becky Bloomwood is ridiculous and mocking her is a great time. Emily Gray, the narrator, really captured the silliness of the main character.

4. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, narrated by Lynn Redgrave

I always like this story, but hearing it read by Lynn Redgrave really brought these characters to life. It doesn't always happen, but sometimes the narrators can't find a rhythm that suites the story and that ruins the experience for the reader. Lynn, however, was excellent. If you closed your eyes, it was all the easier to picture the world of Inkheart and the people living within it.

3. Coraline by Neil Gaiman, narrated by Neil Gaiman

I love that Neil Gaiman narrates most, if not all, of his works. His voice works well across the board for so many genres, it's incredible. This one is my favorite for it's subtle creepiness factor and how eerie Neil manages to sound, especially on the other side of the door with the Other family.

2. The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer, narrated by Amanda Palmer

I still have a lot of problems being the kind of person I wish I was, but this book helped me figure a lot of things out, mainly what kind of person I want to be. I'm not brave enough yet to do all the things or be all the things I want, but hearing Amanda talk about her history helps me to think sometimes.

The thing I like about this audio book, besides the book itself, is that it is interspersed with Amanda's music from throughout her career. That's an added touch that I wasn't expected when I first listened to it.

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale

Jim Dale is one of the most talented narrators that I've ever come across. He was able to take the people within the Harry Potter series and make a unique voice for each of them. Considering the cast contains hundreds of characters, that is no mean feat! 

All pictures, quotes, and videos belong to their respective owners. I use them here solely for the purpose of review and commentary.

Top Ten Tuesday: 2016 Debut Novels We Are Looking Forward To

There are always books to look forward to, whether they're continuations of a series we love, brand new standalones, or debut novels from brand new authors. I'm very excited to share some of my favorite and most looked forward to debuts of 2016.

1. The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry

2. Learning To Swear in America by Katie Kennedy

3. The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

4. The Reader by Traci Chee

5. These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

6. Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

7. Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace

8. Burning  Glass by Kathryn Purdie

9. The Girl Who Fell by Shannon M. Parker

10. Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

Monthly Recommendations: Books to Read in 2016

At first I wasn't sure what to include in this list. I'm part of two street teams for authors that have books coming out in 2016 and I will be posting a lot about those coming up. You may have seen two letters I've already done for two of them. Luckily, when I read the description for this month's "challenge" as it were, I found that I could include books that I think you ought to read rather than ones that are simply being published next year.

This is good because it'll allow me to share different books, allowing for a wider variety in my lists. So, for this month, here you are:

Nix, the main character, has a pirate ship that can travel through space and time. It's practically like having a TARDIS. I want to read this so much. For starters, the time travel aspect alone piques my interest. Second, at least one of the settings is Hawaii. I have only ever read one books that takes some place in Hawaii. It'll be cool to see more of that state, though in this book I think she visits it prior to statehood (late 1800's).

 

If you have not read The Wrath & the Dawn yet, I highly suggest you get on that. It is a tremendously wonderful book and you have to read it before May because that it when the sequel, The Rose & the Dagger, comes out! Do not expect to see me much in early May because I will be holed up at home devouring this!

A treat for next summer! When the heat's getting to you and you need to stay inside reading (because of course you need a reason), this looks like it is going to be perfect. I read the winter version earlier this year and the stories selected for the collection were so much fun. There are some spectacular authors in this volume, so many that I can't see how there couldn't be something for everyone.

 

This is another series that has the second book coming out in 2016. Shiny Broken Pieces is the second book in a frightening series about a prestigious ballet school, the teenage students that attend, and what they'll do to make sure they're the best. The characters are a bit scary because of how realistic they are; I wouldn't want to think that anyone is like that, but I know better and in knowing it I can see how truly scary the main characters are. I can't wait for the sequel to come out in July.