Late Summer Releases I'm Dying to Read

(Titles link to Goodreads)

Middle Grade

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill - I read an eARC of this back in May and absolutely love love loved it! I am dying to get my own hardcover copy and read it again!
Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi - Middle-grade fantasy adventures are probably my favorite thing ever. I haven't read Shatter Me so I feel out of place among the thousands of people already fangirling over this book but it sounds right up my alley anyway.
Thornghost by Tone Almhjell - That title sings to me. I would read this for the title even if I didn't know anything about it. Luckily, the synopsis sounds amazing, too. This sounds like the perfect combination of a dark and twisted fantasy adventure. I really want to read this!
The Scourge by Jennifer A. Nielsen - A lethal plague, a prison island, a devious plot. I've heard the best things about Nielsen's books so I have high hopes for this one.

September is the mother of all releases and it's also my birthday month! Now if only I received birthday presents I'd be one happy girl!

MIDDLE GRADE

The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee by Erin Petti - A mysterious haunted object, a missing father, and dark magic. I'm a sucker for a good ghost story.
The Secretkeepers by Trenton Lee Stewart - A boy finds a pocketwatch that can turn him invisible but then he is hunted by mysterious men called The Smoke!
The Evil Wizard Smallbone by Delia Sherman - A bookstore run by a wizard, an evil nemesis, and shape-shifting bikers? The synopsis for this sounds amazing! I've read one other book by this author and enjoyed it so I'm really excited for this one.
Cogheart by Peter Bunzi - A missing inventor father, a clockmaker's son, a mechanical fox, and a London setting all sound like a fun steampunk adventure to me!

YOUNG ADULT

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas - I read the first 4+ books in this series earlier this year and fell in love! I've been very impatiently awaiting this next book. I need more Aelin and Manon!

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo - It's been almost a year since I read Six of Crows but it was one of my top 2 books of 2015. What I remember most is how much I loved Kaz and Inej.

A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess - A firestarter in Victorian England? Sorcerers and demons? That is one combination I cannot overlook! 

Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West - This sounds like a proper gritty fairy tale with the MC stuck between the choice of being good or evil which is not something I've encountered before and am really curious about.
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake - This is about triplets who are all heir to one crown and have to basically fight to the death to be Queen. It sounds like it's going to be full of treachery.
The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst - A fantasy where everything has a spirit and nature is revolting against mankind sounds fascinating!
Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige - This is a 'Snow Queen' retelling which is one of my favorite fairytales ever! 

Are you looking forward to any of these new releases? Are there any other releases you are more excited about?

Book Review: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

I received a free ecopy of this book from Netgalley and Thomas Dunne Books in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Nevernight

Author: Jay Kristoff
Series: The Nevernight Chronicle #1
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Publication Date: August 9, 2016

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Length: 448 pages

Source: Netgalley

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Synopsis: 

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family. 

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father's failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father's former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined. 

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassin's in the entire Republic--the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she'll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church's halls, the bloody secrets of Mia's past return to haunt her, and a plot ot bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves. 

Will she even survive initiation, let alone have her revenge?

My Thoughts: 

Mia Corvere's father was hanged as a traitor, her mother locked away. Mia escapes her own cruel fate, determined to avenge her family. She is pulled off the streets by a man who trains her and then sends her off to the Red Church to further learn how to be the perfect assassin. On her way there, she runs into a tattooed boy named Tric,, who just happens to be looking for the same place as she is. Within the Red Church, they are trained in the arts of sword fighting, pick-pocketing, and more.

Will Mia make it through the grueling tests that the Church set forth for the acolytes? Will she be able to exact her revenge on her father's murderer?

Nevernight was a unique take on the assassin trope with interesting characters, lots of death, blood, and gore, as well as an ending that I really wasn't expecting. It took me a while to get used to the writing style but once I did, I was pretty hooked. There were a few things that I really didn't like about this book but when all was said and done, I ended up really enjoying it nonetheless. 

What I liked:

I loved the worldbuilding. A world with 3 suns is just as interesting as it sounds, although I thought the story could have played into that idea a little more instead of the characters being locked away inside for almost the entire novel. It was hard to picture a bright world with no night when the story itself was so dark. 

The characters were great. 
Mia is a 'darkin' and has the ability to wrap herself in shadow. She has a daemon shadow cat that is always with her and basically feeds off of her fear and anxieties so she doesn't have to deal with them. I really enjoyed how unpredictable she seemed to be.
I also really enjoyed Tric as a character and a few of the other acolytes.
There were a few characters that I wish we could have had a little more of  (Lord Cassius and Naev to be specific.)

I loved the whole 'assassin school' aspect of this story, and it was a huge part of this book. The 'teachers' were some of the most interesting I've come across in the 'school setting' types of stories. They all had some pretty awesome abilities, from controlling blood to changing appearances and they were all pretty interesting. 

The library. Where whole wings are yet to be discovered, this library rivals many other libraries I've read about. And there are actual BOOKWORMS! Giant, man-eating bookworms. How cool is that?

What I didn't like:

I was originally under the assumption that this is a YA novel, but it isn't.  This is an adult novel with a teenage protagonist. That's not what I didn't like about it, though. This book is way too sexually graphic to be a YA book but Goodreads users keep shelving it as such.  I've read adult romance novels with less erotica. There are some seriously pornographic scenes in this book.  I enjoy foul language and mauling and blood and gore (all of which Nevernight has in abundance) but I'm not really into erotica. 
I do think that this would have been a pretty awesome YA novel if it weren't for those R rated scenes. In all honesty, this book doesn't really scream 'adult' otherwise. I kind of felt like this book was having an identity crisis. It's a sex-addicted teenager trying to live in an adult world.

The writing style took me a while to get used to. The first part of the story didn't flow quite as well as the rest of the book. I was determined to continue reading but I really struggled with the first 30% or so of it. It ended up taking me almost 3 weeks to read this book, mostly because the beginning was really hard to get into. I started out really wanting to love it but didn't at first. Luckily, I ended up being pretty much in love with the story, the world, and the characters. 

I'm not sure if these will be in the bound copies but I kind of really hated the footnotes. A lot of them were long and lost my attention. Others felt like they would have done perfectly fine as part of the story instead of as a footnote. Others seemed really pointless. In ebook format, they were all at the very end of each chapter so I either needed to skip ahead or wait until I got to the end and hope I knew what they were talking about by then. It was a little frustrating, to be honest. 

My Rating:  4 stars

Book Series Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black & Teri DiTerlizzi

The Spiderwick Chronicles #1-5

by Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: Juvenile / Middle-grade Fantasy

Source: all borrowed

Title: The Field Guide

Publication Date: January 1, 2003

Length: 128 pages

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N 

Literary Awards:

Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (2005)

Synopsis: 

When the three Grace children -- Mallory, Jared, and Simon -- and their mom move into Aunt Lucinda's old house, readers know there's magic afoot. The kids uncover a nest of assembled junk, and on a visit to the secret library via the dumbwaiter, Jared finds a note describing  "my secret to all mankind." After a few mysterious pranks that get blamed on Jared, the boy finally digs up the real prize: Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. Fortunately enough, the kids meet one of the critters listed in the guide --a brownie named Thimbletack -- who makes it all "real" and helps provide the book's suspenseful conclusion: "Throw the book away, toss it in a fire. If you do not heed, you will draw their ire."

Title: The Seeing Stone

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

Length: 128 pages

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N 

Synopsis:

The Grace kids are just beginning to get used to Aunt Lucinda's strange old mansion when Simon suddenly disappears. Jared and his sister have to rely on the help of a mischievous house boggart, a nasty bridge troll, and a loud-mouthed hobgoblin to get him back.                                                    

Title: Lucinda's Secret
Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Length: 128 pages

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Synopsis: 

Let the story of my niece and nephews be a warning. The more you know, the more danger you're in. And trust me, you don't want to meddle with the Little People. -- S.S.

Title: The Ironwood Tree

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

Length: 128 pages 

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Synopsis: 

First a pack of vile, smelly goblins snatch Simon. Then a hand of elves try to entrap Jared. Why is the entire faerie world so eager to get their hands on Spiderwick's Guide? And will the Grace kids be left alone, now that the Guide has mysteriously disappeared? Don't count on it.                                    

Title: The Wrath of Mulgarath
Publication Date: September 7, 2004

Length: 146 pages

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Synopsis: 

The final book in the Spiderwick Chronicles. 

 My Thoughts: 

These are such short books and they are already over a decade old so I decided to just do a review on the entire series rather than each individual book. 

This series was a ton of fun to read. The fantasy element was wonderful. There are plenty of mythical fairytale creatures in this series that are sure to delight readers of all ages. 

I did feel like there was a lot of yelling from the mother in the first book. She seems angry at her kids all the time and dishes out punishments quite a bit. That really stood out for me in every book. The relationships between the family members are pretty prominent. Looking back on the entire series, it's more of a story about how a broken family comes together over something rather amazing. You can see how the sibling's relationships with each other change drastically from fighting and bickering to defending each other and working together.

The illustrations really make this series. DiTerlizzi did a wonderful job at making this story come to life with pictures. Some settings and creatures would have been difficult to picture without them, especially since these books are pretty light on descriptions. 

I saw the movie adaptation years ago and am having a hard time getting my hands on it again so I cannot make detailed comparisons. The only thing I can't remember being in the movie is the quarry. It might be there, it might not. I honestly can't remember. I do believe that the movie did an excellent job of bringing this series to life. 

I'd recommend this to any young reader looking for a fun adventurous story with magic, fairies, or mythical creatures. 

Book Review: The Jolley-Rogers and the Cave of Doom by Jonny Duddle

I received a free physical copy of this book from Templar and The Reading Room in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Jolley-Rogers and the Cave of Doom
Series: The Jolley-Rogers #2
Author: Jonny Duddle
Publisher: Templar
Publication Date: August 2, 2016
Genre: Children's, Adventure
Length: 160 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: The Reading Room

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Synopsis: 
Ahoy, me hearties! Matilda and the Pirates Next Door return in a series of illustrated stories for young readers.

While the Jolley-Rogers are enjoying a day at the beach, Dad and Mom and little sister Nugget are mysteriously drawn into a cave. When they don't return, Jim Lad is suspicious and sends Bones the dog to Dull-on-Sea to find Matilda before he, too, ventures into the cave. Jim Lad soon discovers a magical haul of treasure inside the cave that has bewitched his family. Will the cave's sinister sea hags keep them prisoner forever, or can Matilda and Bones come to the Jolley-Rogers' rescue?

My Thoughts: 
The Jolley-Rogers is a family of pirates that sail the open seas in a ship named Blackhole. One day, Dad declares that it's the perfect day to visit the beach. While Jim Lad and his mom go surfing, his dad and little sister, Nugget, go searching for buried treasure with the help of their metal detector. When they enter a cave and don't return, the mother goes in after them. When she doesn't return, Jim Lad is sure something is up so he sends his penpal friend, Tilly, a letter attached to the collar of his dog, Bones, and goes in after his family. 

The Jolley-Rogers series is about the adventures of a pirate family of four that tends to get themselves into sticky situations but ultimately always have a great time.

This starts out with three old hags brewing up a cauldron of scurvy, slimy things and chanting things and it really sets the tone for this book. It is a children's story so it isn't creepy but the witches give it a sort of dark and mysterious vibe. Their reason for luring pirates into their dark cave was quite harmless and also kind of funny. Likewise, Tilly's 'magic' had me snickering.

The illustrations are  really fun and immersive. I really enjoyed how they brought the story to life. Some pages were entirely illustrations while others were both story and pictures, intertwined. 

This was fun and humorous adventure that I am sure all kids will enjoy. 

My Rating: 4 stars

Top Ten Tuesday #89 - Books I'd Buy Right This Second

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

Ten Books I'd Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed Me A Fully Loaded Gift Card

Well isn't this just the best prompt ever?! I specialize in dreaming of things that I can't actually afford. I do have a little bit of book $ saved up though so one or two of these might be mine soon.

Preorders

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill - I've already read this one and absolutely loved it! I want to own it so I can re-read it and read it to my kids. 

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas - I need this one right now! Also, I only own the first book so I'd have to buy those too.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo - I don't own Six of Crows yet so I'd have to buy that so I could re-read it before this came out.

Backlist Books

The Illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling - I obviously need this so I can read it to my toddler who prefers pictures. Lots of pictures. 

I would also buy the lovely Hogwarts spine paperback box set because my books from middle school are very old and battered and I need a new set.

Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales by Justin Richards - I love Doctor Who and really want this! It could have it's own feature space on my shelves with my Tardis mug. 

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende - I loved this movie as a kid but didn't know it was a book back then. It's super cheap on Amazon but I've never gotten around to purchasing it.

The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson - I've been dying to read these but my library doesn't loan for long enough for me to read even just one so I need my own copies! I really prefer the original hardcover artwork but I like these, too. Also, because this isn't just a trilogy I'll need the newer book/s as well.

The Graveyard Book (Graphic Novel) by Neil Gaiman - I don't even own the original so I'd have to remedy that. I'd probably buy all of the Gaiman I don't already own in hardcover. I still want that old school version of Stardust illustrated by Charles Vess that I paid for but never received! 

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein - My kiddo gets way more books than I do these days so I couldn't leave out the fact that I'd buy a ton of kids books. Picture books, chapter books, and more. But to start, I'd buy all the Silverstein books because toddlers need awesome rhymes like these! 

Seriously though, I'm waiting on that fully loaded gift card. Any one? Come on guys, please? It's almost my birthday! Ok, ok, I'll just stick to dreaming. 

August 2016 TBR (+ a Giveaway)

I didn't read many books last month so a lot of these are from July's TBR. I can only hope that I can do a better job and knock out some of these titles so I can focus on some darker/spookier reads in September and October.
I will be participating in ARC August and Bout of Books this month so hopefully those will help me have a productive month.

Here for the GIVEAWAY? It's at the bottom! :)

(STRUCK OUT = FINISHED READING)
( CR = CURRENTLY READING )

For Review

1. Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh (Oct 2016) CR

2. The Scourge by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Aug 30)

3. The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart by Lauren DeStefano (Sept 13)

4. The Evil Wizard Smallbone by Delia Sherman (Sept 13)

5. Sunborn Rising: Beneath the Fall by Aaron Safronoff (Aug 11)

For Fun (If I can fit them in)

1. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

2. Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine (library)

3. Shadows of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee 

4. Illuminae by Annie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

5. The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi

6. Everland by Wendy Spinale

7. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

Maybe (library holds and/or due back soon)
1. The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
2. Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi
3. The Voyage to Magical North by Claire Fayers
4. Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George
5. Thursdays With the Crown by Jessica Day George
6. Fridays With the Wizards by Jessica Day George

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

I've had 'A Darker Shade of Magic' on my shelf for too long and have decided I'm going to read it whether I own the next book in the Shades of Magic series or not. I have this little obsession with making bookmarks for big books or series that I plan on reading soon and designed, painted, and laminated this one a few months ago. Of course, I made an extra one because I have a toddler and there's no telling when she'll get a hold of my bookmarks and destroy them. (It happens quite often.)

The rules / details:

1. Ends 8/31/2016 at midnight EST.

2. This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL!!!

3. If you are age 13 or younger, please get a parent or guardian's permission before entering as you will be sharing personal information (that I will not share with any one).

4. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter and will be emailed with a day or two. 

5. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. 

6. Please be honest and don't spam. Winning entries will be verified. 

Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway