Top Ten Tuesday (99)

This week's topic is favorite 2016 releases so far.  I can't believe the quality of stuff that I've read this year.  It made it so hard to choose just ten.

1. The Raven King - Maggie Steifvater
The best and also most important.  I had no chill leading up to this book, I had to know if my sweet nightmare children were going to be okay (of course not, nothing's okay, it's Maggie).

2. Remembrance - Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot can do no wrong.  I read the whole Mediator series for the first time this year and it was a blast.

3. Wink Poppy Midnight - April Genevieve Tucholke
I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on this one, but I absolutely adored it.  Tucholke does atmospheric like no other.

4. The Serpent King - Jeff Zentner
I don't know what else to say about this book, so I'm just going to go back to my review:  This book is struggles and loss and feeling trapped by circumstance, but it's also hope and perseverance and discovery.  It's so true to life and it is a beautiful read.

5. Passenger - Alexandra Bracken
This is basically a treasure hunt through time hosted by a hot privateer (read: pirate) and it is fantastic.

6. Rebel of the Sands - Alwyn Hamilton
With a tagline like 'More gunpowder than girl' did you think this was one I'd skip.  Amani is the bomb and Jinn... *fans self*

7. Blackhearts - Nicole
There seemed to be an influx of pirate books at the beginning of this year and I am hella here for it.  Also, this cover is GORGEOUS.  I can't wait for Blacksouls!

8. Firsts - Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
I said in my review for this one that it made me feel like an old and I stand by it, but I completely fell in love with these complicated characters.

9. Kill the Boy Band - Goldy Moldavsky
I've been a boyband fan basically forever.  I got New Kids sheets for my first grade birthday.  I still (often) think about the fact that I didn't get tickets to BSB's Millenium tour (I'm not even joking I have so much concert FOMO it's not funny).  I have a tumblr that currently has 708 pages of One Direction posts (yikes).  There was literally no way in hell I wasn't going to read and love this one.

10. Gena/Finn - Hannah Moskowitz & Kat Helgeson
I'm still really impressed by how much they totally get fandom in this book.  Also, by their ability to build an interesting, complex story even if you're not totally into fandom.  I'm echoing my Goodreads review, but really, 1000 stars.

Which 2016 releases have you guys loved so far?

Mini Reviews

It happens from time to time - everything seems to be going along swimmingly when all of a sudden you miss a week of reviews.  And then another week goes by...and then another.  Pretty soon you have a stack of books that you've read with no reviews to go with them.  The muse monster just got away from me these past few months.  I have a number of books with a very tiny amount of notes to go along with them, so I'm going to try something new here: mini reviews!  First up...

Title: Wild Swans
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Pages: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads rating: 

When I first read the description of this book it reminded me a lot of Practical Magic, so it was obviously a must read for me.  (The Owens aunts are, like, ultimate goals.)



Anyway, Wild Swans is about a girl who comes from a family of "cursed" women.  They all burn very brightly and quickly; there's immense talent, but they either die young or run away to escape the family.  I was so ready to love this family of badass ladies, but right off the bat had some trouble.  I didn't really connect with Ivy, who, in a family full of excellence, feels very ordinary.  When her runaway mother decides to come home with her two other daughters in tow, it forces Ivy to deal with the feelings of abandonment she's felt her entire life.  The major thing I didn't love about Wild Swans was that it felt like a whole ton of info dumping and that took me out of the story completely.  Unfortunately, this one didn't live up to my high expectations for it.

Title: The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You
Author: Lily Anderson
Pages: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: Netgalley

Goodreads rating:

 I was a little worried this was going to totally overdo the 'GEEK! NERD! DOCTOR WHOOOOO!!!!' angle because Doctor Who is actually mentioned in the description of this book.  I used to be a big Doctor Who person, so I know that they can be a tad overexcitable.  But this was just the right amount of references and nerding out.

The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You has one of my favorite tropes ever: enemies to lovers.  Trix and Ben were so great.  When she came to the realization that she was being a hellbeast it was perfect because, especially at that age, you practically never realize you're being one.

The cast of characters were all super enjoyable.  I loved the groups of boys and girls and the dynamic of them coming together.  The romance development was great and the mystery aspect was really well done.  I can't wait to see what Anderson has coming up next.

Title: Every Exquisite Thing
Author: Matthew Quick
Pages: 272
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Goodreads rating: 

This was a pretty solid read for me.  It felt like a combination of TFIOS (without the cancer), The Serpent King, and Catcher in the Rye (ugh).  This is flat out a coming of age story.  It's Nanette's senior year and her English teacher gives her a book that sparks a change in her.  She's tired of doing what is expected of her (she doesn't want to play soccer anymore, even though she's one of the best on her team) so she takes inspiration from this book and quits.

 

She befriends the author of said book who then introduces her to another little misfit and totally changes her life.

Quick is very good at making you feel what Nanette is feeling.  When she's falling for Alex, the misfit poet with big dreams, you do too.  When she starts seeing Alex's behavior in a different light you're like, girl, run.  That boy is too much.  I loved how understanding Nanette's parents are of her need to deconstruct her whole life, very supportive.

I loved the Pat Benetar mentions and the sneaky Ed Sheeran reference.

*    *    *

So that's it for my first round of mini reviews.  Hopefully I'll be back to regular size reviewing soon!

Waiting on Wednesday (79)

Title: The Secret Sea
Author: Barry Lyga
Pub. Date: 08.23.16

Three friends find themselves plunged into a world of quantum physics, a rare disease, and a mysterious fact about a real-life global catastrophe.
Twelve-year-old Zak Killian is hearing a voice. Could it be a guardian angel? A ghost? No, that's crazy. But sometimes the voice is so real. . . . It warns him of danger.
One day Zak is standing on the subway platform when the tunnel starts to fill with water. He sees it before anyone else. The voice warns him to run. His friends Moira and Khalid believe this is more than a premonition, and soon all three find themselves in an alternate universe that is both familiar and seriously strange. As Zak unravels the mystery behind the voice, he faces decisions that may mean the end of their world at home--if they can even get home!

Top Ten Tuesday (98)

This week's topic is top ten most anticipated releases for the second half of the year.  I'm totally in the midst of a reading slump right now, but here's hoping one of these can break me out of it.

All the Missing Girls - Megan Miranda - 6.28
How to Hang a Witch - Adriana Mather - 7.26
As I Descended - Robin Talley - 9.6
Empire of Storms - Sarah J. Maas - 9.6
A Song to Take the World Apart - Zan Romanoff - 9.13
I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl - Gretchen McNeil - 9.13
It's Not Me, It's You - Stephanie Kate Strohm - 10.25
You in Five Acts - Una LaMarche - 11.1
Heartless - Marissa Meyer - 11.8
Trouble Makes a Comeback - Stephanie Tromly - 11.22

Which releases are you most looking forward to?

Waiting on Wednesday (78)

Title: Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies
Author: Laura Stampler
Pub. Date: 07.19.16

Harper Anderson always believed she belonged somewhere more glamorous than her sleepy Northern California suburb. After all, how many water polo matches and lame parties in Bobby McKittrick's backyard can one girl take? That's why Harper is beyond ecstatic when she lands her dream internship as a dating blogger at the elite teen magazine Shift. Getting to spend the summer in New York City to live her dream of becoming a writer? Harper's totally in.
There's just one teeny, tiny, infinitesimal problem: Apart from some dance floor make-outs, Harper doesn't have a lot of - or, really, any - dating expertise. In fact, she might have sort of stolen her best friend's experiences as her own on her Shiftapplication. But she can learn on the job...right?
From awkward run-ins with the cute neighborhood dog-walker to terrifying encounters with her crazed editor, from Brooklyn gallery openings to weekends in the Hamptons, Harper finds out what it takes to make it in the Big City--and as the writer of her own destiny. 

Waiting on Wednesday (77)

Title: All the Missing Girls
Author: Megan Miranda
Pub. Date: 06.28.16

It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.

The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.

Waiting on Wednesday (76)

Title: You Know Me Well
Author: Nina LaCour & David Levithan
Pub. Date: 06.07.16

Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?
Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.
That is until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.
When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other -- and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

Waiting on Wednesday (75)

Title: The Inside of Out
Author: Jenn Marie Thorne
Pub. Date: 05.31.16

When her best friend Hannah comes out the day before junior year, Daisy is so ready to let her ally flag fly that even a second, way more blindsiding confession can't derail her smiling determination to fight for gay rights. 
Before you can spell LGBTQIA, Daisy's leading the charge to end their school’s antiquated ban on same-sex dates at dances—starting with homecoming. And if people assume Daisy herself is gay? Meh, so what. It's all for the cause. 
What Daisy doesn't expect is for "the cause” to blow up—starting with Adam, the cute college journalist whose interview with Daisy for his university paper goes viral, catching fire in the national media. #Holy #cats. 
With the story spinning out of control, protesters gathering, Hannah left in the dust of Daisy’s good intentions, and Daisy's mad attraction to Adam feeling like an inconvenient truth, Daisy finds herself caught between her bold plans, her bad decisions, and her big fat mouth.

Waiting on Wednesday (74)

Title: The Safest Lies
Author: Megan Miranda
Pub. Date: 05.24.16

Can fear be inherited?

Kelsey was raised to see danger everywhere. Her mother hasn’t set foot outside their front door in seventeen years, since she escaped from her kidnappers with Kelsey growing inside her.
Kelsey knows she’s supposed to keep a low profile for their own protection, but that plan is shattered when she drives off a cliff and is rescued by volunteer firefighter and classmate Ryan Baker.
A few days later, she arrives home to face her greatest fear: her mother is missing. She and her mother have drilled for all contingencies—except this one. Luckily, Ryan is as skilled at emergency rescues as Kelsey is at escape and evasion. 
To have a chance at a future, Kelsey will have to face all her darkest fears. Because someone is coming for her.
And the truth about the past may end up being the most dangerous thing of all. 

Waiting on Wednesday (73)

Title: Devil and the Bluebird
Author: Jennifer Mason-Black
Pub. Date: 05.17.16

Blue Riley has wrestled with her own demons ever since the loss of her mother to cancer. But when she encounters a beautiful devil at her town crossroads, it’s her runaway sister’s soul she fights to save. The devil steals Blue’s voice—inherited from her musically gifted mother—in exchange for a single shot at finding Cass.

Armed with her mother’s guitar, a knapsack of cherished mementos, and a pair of magical boots, Blue journeys west in search of her sister. When the devil changes the terms of their deal, Blue must reevaluate her understanding of good and evil and open herself to finding family in unexpected places.