Ten books on my spring TBR list
In my mind there are always too many book and too little time to read them all. I never seem to make and headway on my ever-expanding TBR list. But here are 10 books I've got on my list for the next few months along with their Goodreads summaries. They are in order of release date.
1. Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder
Once, only her own life hung in the balance…
When Yelena was a
poison taster, her life was simpler. She survived to become a vital part
of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia.
Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek.
Suddenly, though, dissent is rising. And Valek’s job—and his life—are in danger.
As
Yelena tries to uncover her enemies, she faces a new challenge: her
magic is blocked.And now she must find a way to keep not only herself
but all that she holds dear alive.
2. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.
The
engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one
celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of
her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the
truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even
trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled
practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran,
and close to uncovering a shocking secret.
As Arin enlists
dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t
fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end,
it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth.
And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their
crimes will cost them.
3. Breaking Sky by Cori McCarthy
In this high-flying, adrenaline-fueled debut thriller, America's best
hope is the elite teen fighter pilots of the United Star Academy
Chase
Harcourt, call sign "Nyx," is one of only two pilots chosen to fly the
experimental "Streaker" jets at the junior Air Force Academy in the year
2048. She's tough and impulsive with lightning-fast reactions, but few
know the pain and loneliness of her past or the dark secret about her
father. All anyone cares about is that Chase aces the upcoming Streaker
trials, proving the prototype jet can knock the enemy out of the sky.
But
as the world tilts toward war, Chase cracks open a military secret.
There's a third Streaker jet, whose young hotshot pilot, Tristan, can
match her on the ground and in the clouds. Chase doesn't play well with
others, but to save her country she may just have to put her life in the
hands of the competition.
4. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.
She is a princess. When the
Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned
children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s
capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and
theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.
She
is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to
study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a
wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s
behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly
dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.
She
is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century
using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the
continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it
will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to
stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s
magic, she will vanish like all the others.
5. Pendragon's Heir by Suzannah Rowntree
Blanche Pendragon enjoys her undemanding life as the ward of an
eccentric nobleman in 1900 England. It's been years since she wondered
what happened to her long lost parents, but then a gift on the night of
her eighteenth birthday reveals a heritage more dangerous and
awe-inspiring than she ever dreamed of—or wanted. Soon Blanche is flung
into a world of wayfaring immortals, daring knights, and deadly combats,
with a murderous witch-queen on her trail and the future of a kingdom
at stake. As the legendary King Arthur Pendragon and his warriors face
enemies without and treachery within, Blanche discovers a secret that
could destroy the whole realm of Logres. Even if the kingdom could be
saved, is she the one to do it? Or is someone else the Pendragon's Heir?
6. Yield the Night by Annette Marie
After surviving a round-trip to hell, Piper figures she can survive
anything. After all, she just lived through the devastating loss of her
Consul apprenticeship and a torturous stint at boarding school. How much
worse could it get?
Well, she wasn’t expecting a group of crazy radicals to burn her home to the ground and take her prisoner.
The
Gaians, a.k.a. the crazy radicals, plan to rid Earth of daemons and
they need Piper’s help. In exchange for her cooperation, they promise
her the answer to all her problems: magic. With her own magic, she could
reclaim her apprenticeship, the only future she’s ever wanted. But her
magic comes at price — it could kill her.
With the life she’s
always known crumbling around her and her future slipping from her
grasp, she needs Ash’s help one more time. But the greatest danger of
all lies within her, and no matter what she does, she may lose
everything — including him.
7. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial
Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover
as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for
assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her
brother from execution.
ELIAS is the academy’s finest
soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting
the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a
ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.
When Laia
and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies
are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their
choices will change the future of the empire itself.
8. From the Ashes by Shelby K. Morrison
For eighteen years Aia Wynnald has lived a lie. Raised as a highborn in
the Kingdom of Tharien, she’s filled her days with tutors and archery
lessons. But simmering beneath her polite surface is a dangerous gift,
one which she must keep a secret. Aia is a Bender. And in Tharien,
Benders are feared and hunted.
When her unruly power breaks free with
dire repercussions, Aia’s lifelong goal of independence shatters. As
she scrambles to piece her life back together while evading capture, she
disturbs a vengeful force intent on destroying the kingdom.
Now,
with the help of an unlikely ally, Aia will decide the fate of Tharien.
To rescue those she cares about will require accepting what she is. But
can she risk becoming the monster she’s dreaded to save the very
citizens baying for her blood?
9. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a
beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a
treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre
discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the
lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she
dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy
hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning
she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an
ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a
way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
10. Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
When Rachelle was fifteen, she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in
training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also
reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her
world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes
dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that
binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.
Three years
later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly
creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his
son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her
find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become
unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic,
and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable
wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop
the fall of endless night?
Ten books for readers who like fantasy
If you've read anything on this blog, you probably realize that I'm a big fantasy fan. So here are 10 of my favorites throughout the years. Some are whole series and others are the first book in a series. I've included the name, Goodreads summary, Amazon link and a review link if I've done one. Happy reading!
1. Iron Butterfly Series | Amazon Link
Imprisoned, starved and left with no memories, Thalia awakens to find
herself at the mercy of an evil cult known as the Septori. Their leader
has chosen Thalia as the test subject for a torture device of untold
power, designed to change and twist her into something that is neither
human nor Denai.
Escaping, Thalia finds an unwilling warrior to
protect her and an unlikely Denai to befriend her. After finding a home
at the Citadel as a servant, Thalia’s worst nightmare comes to life and
she begins to show signs of power. Scared and unable to control her
gifts, she tries to hide her past to fit in among the Denai. But the
Septori want their latest test subject back and will stop at nothing to
retrieve her, dead or alive.
2. Cat's Eye Series | Amazon Link | Review
Sora Fallcrest always dreamed of adventure, but as a member of the
nobility, she learned the ways of a Lady instead. Now seventeen, she is
expected to choose a husband and marry. She plots to run away, but just
as she is stepping out the door, she runs into a mysterious man--and is
kidnapped.
Abducted from her manor, Sora is plunged into a world
of magical races, arcane jewelry and forgotten lore. She finds herself
at the mercy of a dangerous assassin, haunted by an even darker past.
She yearns for freedom, but he won't let her go--not when her Cat's Eye
necklace is the only thing that can save his life.
But the
necklace itself presents a problem. It is an ancient device from the
long forgotten War of the Races, and its magic has the ability to steal
souls. Can Sora learn to wield its power -- or will the power wield her?
3. Mind Games by Kiersten White | Amazon Link
Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut
feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the
world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of
the future.
Trapped in a school that uses girls with
extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are
forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in
twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to
obey.
In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling
Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy,
heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters
determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.
4. Masque of Red Death by Bethany Griffin | Amazon Link
Everything is in ruins.
A devastating plague has decimated the
population, and those who are left live in fear of catching it as the
city crumbles around them.
So what does Araby Worth have to live for?
Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery makeup . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.
But
in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will
find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome
proprietor of the club, and Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat.
Neither is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.
And Araby may find not just something to live for, but something to fight for—no matter what it costs her.
5. Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken | Amazon Link
The day the rains came was like any other, blistering air coating the canyon in a heavy stillness....
Just
as the rains come after ten long, dry years, a young wizard, Wayland
North, appears, to whisk Sydelle Mirabil away from her desert village.
North needs an assistant, and Sydelle is eager to see the country - and
to join him on his quest to stop the war that surely will destroy her
home. But North has secrets - about himself, about why he chose Sydelle,
about his real reasons for the journey. What does he want from her? And
why does North's sworn enemy seem fascinated by Sydelle himself?
6. Midnight's Daughter by Karen Chance | Amazon Link
Dorina Basarab is a dhampir-half human, half vampire. Subject to
uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs live very short, very violent lives.
So far Dory has managed to maintain her sanity by unleashing her anger
on those demons and vampires who deserve killing.
Now Dory's
vampire father has come back into her life. Her Uncle Dracula (yes, the
Dracula), infamous even among vampires for his cruelty and murderous
ways, has escaped his prison. And her father wants Dory to work with
gorgeous master vampire Louis-Cesare to put him back there.
Vampires
and dhampirs are mortal enemies, and Dory prefers to work alone. But
Dracula is the only thing on Earth that truly scares her, so when Dory
has to go up against him, she'll take all the help she can get…
7. Steel & Stone by Annette Marie | Amazon Link
Piper Griffiths wants one thing in life: To become a Consul, a keeper of
the peace between humans and daemons. There are precisely three
obstacles in her way.
The first is Lyre. Incubus. Hotter than
hell and with a wicked streak to match. His greatest mission in life is
to get Piper into bed and otherwise annoy the crap out of her. The
second is Ash. Draconian. Powerful. Dangerous. He knows too much and
reveals nothing. Also, disturbingly attractive — and scary. Did she
mention scary?
The third is the Sahar Stone. Top secret magical
weapon of mass destruction. Previously hidden in her Consulate until
thieves broke in, went on a murder spree, and disappeared with the
weapon.
And they left Piper to take the fall for their crimes.
Now
she’s on the run, her dreams of becoming a Consul shattered and every
daemon in the city gunning to kill her. She’s dead on her own, but
there’s no one she can trust — no one except two entirely untrustworthy
daemons... See problems one and two.
8. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder | Amazon Link
Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison...
About to be executed for
murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best
meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying
to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a
food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance,
deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her
daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
As
Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels
plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't
control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this
time the outcomes aren't so clear...
9. Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon | Amazon Link
At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world
around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff
of legends... until the night when his best friends try to kill him.
Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck
Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal
vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.
Nick
quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and
more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a
werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the
undead.
But before he can even learn the rules of this new world,
his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he's
next on the menu.
As if starting high school isn't hard enough. .
.now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from
the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his
brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is
he supposed to do that?
10. The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima | Amazon Link
Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han
Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The
only thing of value he has is something he can't sell—the thick silver
cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked—as he grows, they
grow, and he's never been able to get them off.
One day, Han and
his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to
the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar,
son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han
learns that the amulet has an evil history—it once belonged to the
Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago.
With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars
will stop at nothing to get it back.
Meanwhile, Raisa
ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight.
She's just returned to court after three years of freedom in the
mountains—riding, hunting, and working the famous clan markets. Raisa
wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to
be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King
and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her—including
marriage to a suitor who goes against everything the queendom stands
for.
The Seven Realms tremble when the lives of Hans and Raisa
collide, fanning the flames of the smoldering war between clans and
wizards.
My top ten favorite heroines
I decided to just list my top 10 along with Amazon links for each book they are in. There heroines all have the same theme going on. They're tough, resourceful, kick-ass and smart.
1. Sora - Cat's Eye Series by T.L. Shreffler (YA Fantasy) | Amazon Link
2. Hermione - From Harry Potter. No summary necessary, I think.
3. Nikki Glass - Nikki Glass series by Jenna Black (Urban Fantasy) | Amazon Link
4. Thalia - Iron Butterfly series by Chanda Hahn (YA Fantasy) |Amazon Link
5. Dora - Dorina Basarab series by Karen Chance (Urban Fantasy) | Amazon Link
6. Celaena Sardothien - Throne of Glass (YA Fantasy) | Amazon Link
7. Tessa Gray - The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare (Historical Fantasy) | Amazon Link
8. Yalena - Study series by Maria V. Snyder (Fantasy) | Amazon Link
9. Kestrel - The Winner's Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski (YA Fantasy/Dystopian) | Amazon Link
10. Juliette - Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (Dystopian) | Amazon Link
I did a little research when I started up my blog again. I asked people what they would like to see on my blog other than the usual reviews. One answer I got was lists. I found this fun list to share on Tuesdays. So here's my first Top Ten Tuesday list.
The top ten book related problems I have
1. Money. I spend way too much money on books and I'm not even ashamed to admit that. If I ever added up the cumulative amount I've spent on books over the years, I think I would cry. I probably could have paid for my entire college education with that money. But, as I always tell my mom, there are worst addictions than a book addiction.
2. Dreams. I tend to have extremely vivid dreams when I read right before I head to bed. Some are great, some are not so great. Like the time I read an action book right before going to sleep and I had a dream that I was shot in the neck. I woke up and my neck hurt exactly where it happened. Let's just say, I have a vivid imagination.
3. Having friends that don't read. As much as I love them, some of my friends are dumb as a box of rocks. I cringe inside when they tell me they haven't read a book since high school. It's hard to have an interesting conversation with someone when I have to stop and explain what a word means. For example, I just had this conversation a few days ago:
Me: I feel off today.
Friend: What do you mean you feel off?
Me: I don't know. I just feel like I'm zoning out and a bit lethargic.
Friend: Ash, you know I don't know what lethargic means.
Me: *sighs internally*
4. The real world doesn't live up to my expectation. The real world is boring, and no guy will ever be like my book crushes.
5. Trying to figure out what to read next. Sometimes I go in search of a book, only to find 17 books that I now want to read. Or I have the opposite problem. I can't find a single book to fit my reading mood.
6. Finding a comfortable position while I read an entire book. Does anyone else have the problem where you finally find a good sitting position, only to have your butt fall asleep a few chapters in? So you find a new one, and it happens again. Rinse and repeat for the duration of the book.
7. Lack of sleep. I have a problem where I will start a book at 8 p.m., and if it's really good, I'll stay up all night reading it. Its pretty rare for me to not finish a book in one sitting.
8. Rereading something from my youth. I lot of times it doesn't live up to the memory I had of it. I think it's just because as I've gotten older so have my reading tastes.
9. When a series wraps up. There are some characters I never want to let go of. Even if the series is wrapped up in a nice, neat package and everything is resolved, I still want to see more of it.
10. Bookstores. I have actually made a rule for myself where I'm not allowed to wander into a bookstore in passing. It doesn't matter if I'm "just browsing." I WILL walk out two hours later with a pile of books I wasn't planning on reading. Now, if it's part of my plan to go, that's completely allowed.
