Waiting on Wednesday: The Siren by Kiera Cass

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s pre-publication “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is:

The Siren

by Kiera Cass

Publisher:  Harper Teen

Release date: January 26, 2016

From Amazon:

From Kiera Cass, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Selection series, comes a captivating stand-alone fantasy romance.

Kahlen is a Siren, bound to serve the Ocean by luring humans to watery graves with her voice, which is deadly to any human who hears it. Akinli is human—a kind, handsome boy who's everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. Falling in love puts them both in danger . . . but Kahlen can't bear to stay away. Will she risk everything to follow her heart?

The Siren was previously self-published; this brand-new edition has been completely rewritten and redesigned.

My Thoughts:

I never did read the previously self-published version of The Siren. I did however read The Selection trilogy and really enjoyed it. Cass is a great writer with a wonderful ability to make the reader get invested in the characters she creates. One of the greatest things about this novel is the fact that it is a standalone; and a fantasy on top of that. I think this will make a perfect weekend read. The entire story in one sitting! So very excited for this upcoming release!

What book are you looking forward to being released?

#RockMyTBR Book Challenge Introduction

The #RockMyTBR challenge is hosted by the amazing Sarah K at The YA Book Traveler. This is a perfect challenge for the upcoming year as I bought and received quite a few books over the last couple of years that I didn't get to read yet.

If you want more information on this challenge visit the Introductory Post here.

The rules are really simple, read a minimum of 1 book per month you already own (published book). I will list quite a few series and standalones I would like to get through and I will include which books I already own. If it's a new series I haven't yet started yet I will list all the books I own, or if it’s a series I’ve already started reading I will list starting from the book I am currently on. From books listed below I, by no means, intend to read all because that’s more than I can handle in a year, plus there are some upcoming new releases that I want to read. The reason I chose to list so many is because I hope to buddy read some, and I want to have lots of options.

There are lots of people who signed up for this challenge, so buddy reads could be super fun. Make sure to connect with others that plan to read the same books and come up with a plan. It doesn't get any better than fangirling/fanboying with fellow book nerds.

I will do a monthly wrap up to keep myself on track and will be very active on Twitter, using the #RockMyTBR hashtag, to interact with others.

Below is the list of my TBR pile that I am considering for this challenge:

Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me, Unravel Me, and Ignite Me)

Lux series by Jennifer L. Armetrout (Obsidian, Onyx, Opal, Origin, and Opposition)

Starbound series by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (These Broken Stars, This Shattered World, and Their Fractured Light)

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass, The Assassin’s Blade, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, and Queen of Shadows)

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer series (The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and The Retribution of Mara Dyer) by Michelle Hodkin

His Fair Assassin series by Robin LaFevers (Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph, and Mortal Heart)

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson (The Kiss of Deception and The Heart of Betrayal)

Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

The Winner’s Curse series by Marie Rutkoski (The Winner’s Curse and The Winner’s Crime)

Soundless by Richelle Mead

Finishing School series by Gail Carriger (Ettiquette & Espionage, Courtsies & Conspiracies, Waistcoats & Weaponry, and Manners & Mutiny)

The Heir By Kiera Cass

Fire Falling by Elisa Kova

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab

Vicious by Victoria Schwab

The Chronos Files by Rysa Walker (Time’s Edge and Time’s Divide)

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – we are reading this in January and there’s a group chat on Twitter that was set up by Sarah. If you’d like to participate let her know @thebooktraveler.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, and Dreams of Gods and Monsters) – I am already buddy reading this series, so let me know if you would like to join.

JOIN MY GOODREADS GROUP

Lastly, I am a moderator for the Perpetual YA Bookworms group on Goodreads, and I already planned to lead some group discussions for a couple of series. You can check out the group here and I am including a schedule in this post, in case you would like to join.

Jan 4-10 Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Jan 11-17 A Darkness Strange and Lovely by Susan Dennard

Jan 18-24 Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard

Jan 25-31 Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

Feb 1-7 Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Feb 8-14 Thornhill by Kathleen Peacock

Feb 15-21 Willowgrove by Kathleen Peacock

Feb 1- Mar 6 Born at Midnight by CC Hunter

Mar 7-13 Awake at Dawn by CC Hunter

Mar 14-20 Taken at Dusk by CC Hunter

Mar 21-27 Whispers of Moonrise by CC Hunter

Mar 28-Apr 3 Chosen at Nightfall by CC Hunter

Apr 11-17 The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Apr 18-24 Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Apr 25-May 1 Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

May 2-8 The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater 

I really hope to buddy read some of these with you guys, so if there are any books we have in common please let me know so we can come up with a plan. You can either contact me on twitter, through comments below, or at the email address listed in my Contact tab. Let's all have an amazing 2016 reading year!

Top Ten Tuesday [13]: Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The First Half of 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is an amazing weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is: Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The First Half Of 2016. I am glad we are focusing on just the first part of the year because it would be impossible to narrow it down to just ten for the year; it was quite hard to narrow it down for just the first half of the year. 

This was a super fun post to write and it was also very helpful. Writing the release dates down helped me come up with a plan for my next few Waiting on Wednesday posts so that was pretty great.

Here are my most anticipated releases (in no particular order):

Truthwitch 

by Susan Dennard
(January 5, 2016)

Passenger

 by Alexandra Bracken
(January 5, 2016)

The Raven King 

by Maggie Stiefvater
(April 26, 2016)

A Court of Mist and Fury

 by Sarah J. Maas
(May 3, 2016)

The Rose and The Dagger

 by Renee Ahdieh
(May 3, 2016)

Lady Midnight 

by Cassandra Clare
(March 8, 2016)

The Glittering Court 

by Richelle Mead
(April 5, 2016)

The Shadow Queen 

by C.J. Redwine
(February 16, 2016)

Glass Sword 

by Victoria Aveyard
(February 9, 2016)

The Siren 

by Kiera Cass
(January 26, 2016)

Are any of these on your most anticipated releases for the first half of 2016 list? Let me know in the comments below :)

Stacking the Shelves [10]

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga’s Reviews. Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, physical or virtual. This includes books you buy from your local bookstore or online, ebooks, ARCs, and books you borrow from your friends or library.

If you want to find out more about Stacking the Shelves, please visit the official launch page!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

This week is my first week back to Stacking The Shelves after more than a two month hiatus. Things have been extremely busy at work and I didn't get much blogging or reading done, but I did manage to get quite a few books. Since my last post, I celebrated a birthday, had a few Christmas parties, and had quite a few pre-orders arrive. This week's post is not a week's recap, but a recap of my last few months. So without further ado here are my new books:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling  - Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Jim Kay

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Life and Death - Twilight 10th Anniversary by Stephenie Meyer

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The Rose Society by Marie Lu

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Soundless by Richelle Mead

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

Winter by Marissa Meyer

These Broken Stars 

This Shattered World 

Their Fractured Light 

by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Fire Walker by Josephine Angelini

Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

First & Then by Emma Mills

The Rest Of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Grave Mercy 

Dark Triumph 

by Robin LaFevers

The Kiss of Deception 

The Heart of Betrayal 

by Mary E. Pearson

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Waterfall by Lauren Kate

Antigoddess 

Mortal Gods 

by Kendare Blake

Hope Santa brought you all the books on your wish lists. Leave a link to your Stacking the Selves and I will make sure to check it out. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s pre-publication “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is:

Truthwitch

by Susan Dennard

Publisher:  Tor Teen

Release date: January 5, 2016

From Goodreads:

On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

My Thoughts:

I am so happy that this book is almost here. There were lots of ARCs floating around and it seems that everyone loved this book. Truthwitch is the first book in a four book series; an epic fantasy, full of magic, and tons of adventure. I think what drew me most to this book, besides being in the fantasy genre, is the fact that at the heart of the story is the friendship between Safi and Iseult. I think we need more books built around strong friendships. I already pre-ordered this, so I should get it the day it comes out. I can hardly wait!

Is Truthwitch on your most anticipated releases in 2016? Let me know in the comments below :)

Top Ten Tuesday [12]: Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree

Top Ten Tuesday is an amazing weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s topic is Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year. This topic was somewhat easy to write because I keep an Amazon Wishlist to help family and friends know what to buy so that I don’t end up with multiple copies of the same book.

Some of my friends and I already exchanged gifts this year at an early Xmas party so I already got tons of books, which I will feature in the upcoming Stacking the Shelves post. So here are the top ten books (in no particular order) I wouldn’t mind Santa leaving under my tree this year.

A Step Toward Falling

by Cammie McGovern

Earlier this year I read Say What You Will and fell in love with Cammie McGovern’s writing style and her storytelling abilities, so I am just dying to get my hands on her new release A Step Toward Falling.

Crimson Bound

by Rosamund Hodge

I am a sucker for fairytale retellings and I loved reading Cruel Beauty. There were so many dark elements that Rosamund Hodge wove into her story and I cannot wait to see what she came up with in Crimson Bound.

Dumplin’

by Julie Murphy

This book got so much blogger love that I must check it out.

Sorceress

by Claudia Gray

I own the first 2 hardbacks in this series, so I need the last book, Sorceress, to complete it and marathon read it.

The Girl at Midnight

by Melissa Grey

I’ve had this on my wishlist since before it was released and I still don’t own it. I’ve heard great things about it and I can’t wait to read it.

The Mortal Heart

by Robin LaFevers

I recently received the first two book in this trilogy in paperback for my birthday and I have to complete the series and marathon read it. I am dying to read this trilogy!

The Orphan Queen

by Jodi Meadows

I actually own the ebook of The Orphan Queen but didn’t get a chance to read it yet. I know that there is a major cliffhanger at the end so I probably will wait for the sequel, The Mirror King. This book got so much love that I must have the hardback in my library.

The Witch Hunter

by Virginia Boecker

I honestly don’t know much about this book, except that it kept showing up on many blogs I follow, so I think I want to give it a go. :)

Walk On Earth A Stranger

by Rae Carson

This book grabbed my attention before it was released, but I didn’t get a chance to get to it, so hopefully I will get to read it in 2016.

The Magicians Trilogy

by Lev Grossman

I feel like I’ve been living under a rock with this trilogy. I didn’t know about it until recently, but all of a sudden I see it everywhere I look; so many people love this trilogy. I looked it up and it sounds amazing. I really hope to find this box set under my Xmas tree.

What book do you want Santa to leave under your tree? 

I'm baaaaaaaack!

Hi Guys! It’s been a crazy stressful two months for me and I haven’t been able to post anything on my blog. But that is all behind me now and I am ready to get back into full blogger mode. Even though I haven’t blogged at all over the last few months I still managed to read quite a few books, so I will have quite a few reviews to post.

While I was away I also got nominated for a couple of tags that I want to participate in so be ready to get nominated too!

Thank you to all that still kept in touch in my absence! It was so nice to still be able to keep in touch with you through other social media outlets. I absolutely love the book community!!! You guys rock!!!

In addition to the book reviews I will post I am also going to get back to the weekly Top Ten Tuesdays, Waiting on Wednesday, and Stacking the Shelves.

There are quite a few giveaways that I am planning to host over the next couple of months, so stay tuned for more info on that. That’s all for now. See you guys tomorrow for my Top Ten Tuesday post!

Waiting on Wednesday: Unforgiven by Lauren Kate

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s pre-publication “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is:

Unforgiven

By Lauren Kate

Publisher:  Delacorte Press

Release date: November 10, 2015

From Goodreads:

It’s the book FALLEN fans have been waiting for: Cam’s story, the brooding, bad-boy dark angel readers love.

High school can be hell.

Cam knows what it’s like to be haunted. He’s spent more time in Hell than any angel ever should. And his freshest Hell is high school, where Lilith, the girl he can’t stop loving, is serving out a punishment for his crimes.

Cam made a bet with Lucifer: he has fifteen days to convince the only girl who really matters to him to love him again. If he succeeds, Lilith will be allowed back into the world, and they can live their lives together. But if he fails…there’s a special place in Hell just for him.

Tick-tock.

Spread your wings and cry as bad boy dark angel Cam finally reveals his anguished heart in the epic new FALLEN novel, UNFORGIVEN.

My Thoughts:

I am beyond excited for this book! I read the entire Fallen series a few years ago and really loved it. If I was to ever meet author Lauren Kate at a book event, my question for her would have been “what happened to Cam when the events in the series wrapped up?” Now I no longer have to guess because we are getting an entire novel just with Cam’s story. He was my absolute favorite in the series, with his tormented past, rough edges, and broken heart. I somehow always tend to go for the bad boys in books, and Cam is definitely pretty high on my list of all-time favorite bad boys. Thank you Lauren Kate, for hearing the cries of fangirls around the world and taking pity on us. Needless to say, I will devour this book as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Top Ten Tuesday [11]

Top Ten Tuesday is an amazing weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s topic is Top Ten Debut Authors Who Have Me Looking Forward To Their Sophomore Novel.

For this week’s topic I cheated a bit and included some authors I did read and some that are on my TBR list. For the ones I didn’t read yet, I did already buy the book, but I just didn’t get a chance to read it yet. For the ones I did read, I made sure to include a link to my review if I wrote one in case you want to read more about a specific title. So here is my list, in no particular order:

Sara Raasch – Snow Like Ashes is absolutely amazing. Its sequel, Ice Like Fire, is already available and I already purchased my copy, I just didn’t get around to reading it yet. Sigh :(

Sabaa Tahir – An Ember in the Ashes was absolutely fantastic. I cannot wait for the sequel.

Renee Ahdieh – The Wrath & The Dawn. Need I say more? If you didn’t read this yet, do it now! You won’t regret it.

Cammie McGovern- this is cheating a bit, because SayWhat You Will is not Cammie McGovern’s first novel, but it is her first YA novel. Her new book A Step Toward Falling is her sophomore YA novel. This is already available and I will hopefully get to it soon.

Nicola Yoon – I read Everything, Everything earlier this year and completely fell in love with the story Nicola Yoon wrote, as well as her writing style. I will definitely pick up her sophomore novel.

Becky Albertalli – I just finished reading Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and really loved it.

Robyn Schneider—I read The Beginning of Everything a while back am looking forward to picking up Extraordinary Means sometime soon since it’s already available.

Elise Kova – I am currently reading The Air Awakens and I absolutely love it, so when Fire Falling, the second book in the series, will be released later this month I know I will get it.

Adam Silvera – confession time, I did not read More Happy Than Not, but I do own it and intend to read it very soon. I heard so many amazing things about it that I have no doubt I will love it and therefore pick up his next novel.

Victoria Aveyard- hangs head in shame while admitting: I did not read Red Queen yet. I started reading it and somehow it got away from me. Now with Glass Sword right around the corner I figured I might as well wait and marathon both books. I did love what I read so far.

What are your top ten debut authors?