New Releases February 2016!

Today I have my February New Releases for you all!

These are in no particular order though I am more excited for some.

The first book I have is Stars Above by Marissa Meyer. This releases on February 2, 2016 from Feiwel & Friends. I love this series and I am really excited to read these.

The enchantment continues....

The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s upcoming novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

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The Little Android: A retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles.

Glitches: In this prequel to Cinder, we see the results of the plague play out, and the emotional toll it takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch….

The Queen’s Army: In this prequel to Scarlet, we’re introduced to the army Queen Levana is building, and one soldier in particular who will do anything to keep from becoming the monster they want him to be.

Carswell’s Guide to Being Lucky: Thirteen-year-old Carswell Thorne has big plans involving a Rampion spaceship and a no-return trip out of Los Angeles.

The Keeper: A prequel to the Lunar Chronicles, showing a young Scarlet and how Princess Selene came into the care of Michelle Benoit.

After Sunshine Passes By: In this prequel to Cress, we see how a nine-year-old Cress ended up alone on a satellite, spying on Earth for Luna.

The Princess and the Guard: In this prequel to Winter, we see a game called The Princess

The Mechanic: In this prequel to Cinder, we see Kai and Cinder’s first meeting from Kai’s perspective.

Something Old, Something New: In this epilogue to Winter, friends gather for the wedding of the century…

The second book I have on this list is Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard. This releases on February 9, 2016 by Harper Teen. The last book was awesome so I am dying to read this one.

Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

The third book I have on this list is The Sapphire Cutlass by Sharon Gosling. This releases on February 1, 2016 by Switch Press. I love this series and I can’t wait for it to continue.

Remy and the Ruby Airship s crew have traveled deep into the Indian jungle to learn the truth behind the mysterious Sapphire Cutlass. But Remy is torn between helping her friends and finding her twin brother. Will her choice put everyone in danger?"

The fourth book I have on this list is Assassin’s Heart by Sarah Ahiers. This releases on February 2, 2016 by Harper Teen. I have heard many good things about this book and it really appeals to me so I’m on board.

In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.

Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay.

With shades of The Godfather and Romeo and Juliet, this richly imagined fantasy from debut author Sarah Ahiers is a story of love, lies, and the ultimate vengeance.

The fifth book I have on this list is These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker. This is set to release on February 9, 2016 by Swoon Reads. Basically, this book says it is Jane Austin meets X-Men. It is set in Victorian London and is a Paranormal Romance.

England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.

The sixth book I have on this list is A Spy’s Devotion by Melanie Dickerson. This is set to release on February 9, 2016 by Waterfall Press. I love her books so I am sure I will enjoy this one.

In England’s Regency era, manners and elegance reign in public life—but behind closed doors treason and tawdriness thrive. Nicholas Langdon is no stranger to reserved civility or bloody barbarity. After suffering a battlefield injury, the wealthy, well-connected British officer returns home to heal—and to fulfill a dying soldier’s last wish by delivering his coded diary.

At the home of the Wilherns, one of England’s most powerful families, Langdon attends a lavish ball where he meets their beautiful and intelligent ward, Julia Grey. Determined to maintain propriety, he keeps his distance—until the diary is stolen and all clues lead to Julia’s guardian. As Langdon traces an evil plot that could be the nation’s undoing, he grows ever more intrigued by the lovely young woman. And when Julia realizes that England—and the man she is falling in love with—need her help, she finds herself caught in the fray. Will the two succumb to their attraction while fighting to save their country?

The seventh book I have on this list is Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell. This is set to release on February 2, 2016 by Simon Pulse. This is a Peter Pan retelling so I’m down.

For as long as she can remember, Gwendolyn Allister has never had a place to call home—all because her mother believes that monsters are hunting them. Now these delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. The only saving grace is her best friend, Olivia, who’s coming with them for the summer.

But when Gwen and Olivia are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and taken to a world of flesh-eating sea hags and dangerous Fey, Gwen realizes her mom might have been sane all along.

The world Gwen finds herself in is called Neverland, yet it’s nothing like the stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairy-tale hero who says all the right things and the roguish young pirate who promises to keep her safe.

With time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to face the truths she’s been hiding from all along. But will she be able to save Neverland without losing herself?

The eighth book I have on this list is The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie. This is set to release on February 8, 2016 by Flux. There are pirates in this one so why wouldn’t I want to read this.

For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water.

There’s no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea.

But Cas has fought pirates her entire life. And she's not about to stop.

The ninth book I have on this list is The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine. This is set to release on February 16, 2016 by Balzer + Bray. This is a fairytale retelling and I’m down.

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

The last book I have on this list is Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan. This is set to release on February 9, 2016 by Harper Teen. This looks like a book I really want to read.

Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized. With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.

That’s all for this blogpost. I shall see you again soon!

Books on my Shelf February 2016

February Books on my Shelf!

I got this idea to call it Books on my Shelf from http://cornucopiaofreviews.blogspot.com/

Today I will be sharing my February TBR with you all!

My challenge for this month is: Read a book you picked based solely on the cover!

For this challenge I will read Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis.  

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it’s hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it’s just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.

Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi’s vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.

Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home—a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers’ survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

I am using one of my TBR jars of books I wish to finish soon so the next few books shall be from there.

The second book I shall read this month is The Death Cure by James Dashner.

It’s the end of the line.

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.

Will anyone survive?

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.

The truth will be terrifying.

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all.

The time for lies is over. 

This is the third book in the Maze Runner series. I have been avoiding this book for so long because I don't wish to be sent on an emotional roller coaster.

The third book I shall read this month is The Conjurer’s Riddle by Andrea Cremer.

Charlotte may have left the Floating City, but she’s not out of danger yet. On the run from the British Empire’s clutches, she leads her group of exiles west and south, plunging into a wild world of shady merchants and surly rivermen on the way to New Orleans.

But the more Charlotte learns about the revolution she has championed, the more questions she has. As she and her friends get to know the hidden tunnels that run below New Orleans, home to criminals, assassins, and pirates, and head deep into the mystical bayou surrounding the city, Charlotte must make a decision.

Do the revolution’s goals justify their means, or are some things too sacred to sacrifice?

This is the second book in The Inventor's Secret series. I read the first book a couple months ago and I am determined to read this book this month.

The fourth book I shall read this month is Prophecy by Ellen Oh.

The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms... is a girl with yellow eyes.

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope...

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

The rest of the books are not going to come from my TBR jar. These are books I am either currently reading or books I have not finished in previous months.

The fifth book I shall read this month is Winter by Marissa Meyer. I am more than halfway through this book so I hope to finish it in the next few days. I will be doing a review on it as soon as I am done. :)

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend—the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?

The sixth book I want to read is Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza.

Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past—that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.

The last book I want to read is The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling.

All Harry Potter wants is to get away from the Dursleys and go back to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby - who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone--or something--starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects... Harry Potter himself.

January Wrap Up!

January Wrap-Up

January was not a good reading month for me as I didn’t manage to finish all the books that I wanted to.

The first book I read was Rook by Sharon Cameron. I loved this book and the review will be linked at the bottom of this post.

The second book I read was A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I loved this book and I do need to post a review on this and that is on my list of book reviews to do.

The third book I read was The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey. I loved this book as well and I will be doing a review of this as soon as I can.

The fourth book I read was Curio by Evangeline Denmark. This review is up and I shall link it at the bottom of this post.  

I have also started Winter by Marissa Meyer and I am about halfway through. I will most likely not finish this book in this month but I can try.

I did not finish the rest of the books that I wanted to so they will probably be going into my next TBR!

Reviews Mentioned:

Rook by Sharon Cameron

Curio by Evangeline Denmark

Curio by Evangeline Denmark: Just the right amount of action, style and romance!

This is a spoiler free review!

Curio

Written by Evangeline Denmark

Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction/Steampunk/Paranormal

Publisher: Blink

Release Date: January 5, 2016

Pages: 432

Source: Bought from Amazon

Places to Get this Book: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Recommended Age: 13 and up!

Summary:

Grey Haward has always detested the Chemists, the magicians-come-scientists who rule her small western town. But she has always followed the rules, taking the potion the Chemists ration out that helps the town’s people survive. A potion that Grey suspects she—like her grandfather and father—may not actually need.

By working at her grandfather’s repair shop, sorting the small gears and dusting the curio cabinet inside, Grey has tried to stay unnoticed—or as unnoticed as a tall, strong girl can in a town of diminutive, underdeveloped citizens. Then her best friend, Whit, is caught by the Chemists’ enforcers after trying to protect Grey one night, and after seeing the extent of his punishment, suddenly taking risks seems the only decision she can make.

But with the risk comes the reality that the Chemists know her family’s secret, and the Chemists soon decide to use her for their own purposes. Panicked, Grey retreats to the only safe place she knows—her grandfather’s shop. There, however, a larger secret confronts her when her touch unlocks the old curio cabinet in the corner and reveals a world where porcelain and clockwork people are real. There, she could find the key that may save Whit’s life and also end the Chemists’ dark rule forever

Review:

This book intrigued me from the start even though I didn’t really know what it was about. Yes, I judged the book by it's cover, but can you blame me?

I adore steampunk YA novels and since this one, well I naturally ate it up.

The world building was phenomenal and done very well. It’s very entertaining. There are two world in this one. The world within the curio cabinet and the world in which she was born. Both are ruled by evil rulers.

Most of the characters are well developed and you care about them. I would however like it if I got to know more of their backstories but maybe that will come in the next few books.

I like how there are multiple points of views so you can see what is happening at different times rather than just what is happening to her.

The villains are well developed though I’m still not absolutely sure why some of them are so evil. Like what exactly is the point.

The action in this story is wonderful and kept me in suspense and on the edge of my seat rather often. I was scared for the character’s lives at all the right moments even though I knew they would probably survive.

Oh and we mustn't forget the romance. The chemistry between Blaise and Grey was on-point. I love how the romance didn’t take over the whole book because of the fact that everyone was trying to stay alive. I also like how Grey didn’t solely rely on Blaise to save her. She was a strong-willed, kickass female character.

Final Thoughts:

I loved this book! And I’d recommend this book to fans of Dystopian/Science Fiction. Be sure to pick this book up and give it a go. It doesn’t disappoint.

If Curio was a Movie:

Maybe Natalie Dormer or someone else with blonde hair as Grey

Ben Barnes as Blaise

Colin Morgan as Whit

Quotes from the Book:

"You never needed me. You're a better Defender than I could ever be."

"Love is magic in our veins. Love the hand of the punisher stays. Love heals what justice flays. Love defends and mercy reigns."

"We're not porcies with pumps for hearts and delusions for souls."

"You tricked me. The moment your blood flowed, you grew stronger."