Hey'a, everyone! So, after winter's rather underwhelming release lineup, this spring's list looks amazing — though, honestly, it would look amazing compared to just about any release lineup. While we don't have long-anticipated releases on the level of Return of the Thief, we have some reads on this list that I already know are amazing and a lot of others that I have high hopes for. And when I say "a lot," I really mean a lot. When I made my original list of all the books releasing this spring that I was interested in, there were over 20 books on it. Even after I cut the ones I was less enthusiastic about or that I was uncomfortable with based on early reviews or other newly-released information, I had a solid seventeen titles that I wanted to feature in my release posts. So, this list is going to take a little time to get through . . . but trust me, it's worth it.

Spring 2021 Reads

1. The Bright and the Pale by Jessica Rubinowski (March 2). I want to start by stating that I really like this cover. The colors, the art style, the little bits of northern lights in the sky, the typeface and the little icicles on the word pale . . . it's just very pretty. The story sounds like it has a great deal of potential too; it's Russian-inspired fantasy, and some of the reviews suggest it has that edge of creepiness that can make for a really enjoyable tale.

2. Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olsen (March 9). So this is a genderbent Phantom of the Opera retelling told from the perspective of the Phantom equivalent, and while I'm not a huge Phantom fan (mostly because I think Christine Daae is largely an idiot), this does sound pretty cool? The idea of memory magic has a lot of potential, and it sounds like the romantic relationships might be handled a bit better. We'll see.

3. Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley (March 16). Obviously I don't usually go in for contemporary. But I love a good mystery, and I'm still trying to read more books outside speculative fiction, so we're going to give this a try. It does sound pretty exciting.

4. The Seventh Raven by David Elliott (March 16). There are not enough Six Ravens/Wild Swans retellings out there — I only know of one other, and that one was . . . disappointing, to say the least. So I have very high hopes for The Seventh Raven! I'm hoping for a good focus on family ties and sibling relationships and all that sort of thing. The book is also written in verse instead of prose, which will be quite different from my usual fare.

5. Wingfeather Tales by Andrew Peterson and friends (March 23). I shared my thoughts on this anthology last week, but to sum up: if you read the Wingfeather Saga when it re-released last year (or in general) and you want more tales from Aerwiar, this book is just the thing to satisfy that appetite. There's something in this anthology for everyone, and the stories range from an Arabian-Nights-esque adventure in "The Prince of Yorsha Doon" to a high-seas look at a favorite Wingfeather character's past in "From the Deeps of the Dragon King" to a heartbreakingly raw and beautiful journey in "The Places Beyond the Maps." (And there's a Florid Sword comic! Which is awesome.)

6. The Werewolf of Whitechapel by Suzannah Rowntree (March 25). THIS BOOK, Y'ALL. There isn't a single book on this list I'm more excited about than The Werewolf of Whitechapel. I signed up for an eARC of it and read it earlier this week, and oh my pumpernickel. It's one of my favorite books I've read this year. It reminds me a lot of W.R. Gingell's Masque — which, you may recall, I utterly adore and read twice in a single year — but set in a fantastical alternate-history England, in which mythological monsters hold the thrones of Europe. And it's SO GOOD. And I need EVERYONE ELSE to buy it and read it AT ONCE so y'all can experience the AWESOMENESS and appreciate Miss Sharp with me.

7. Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo (March 30). On one hand, I was kind of meh about King of Scars — which is tragic, given how much I loved Nikolai in the original Grisha trilogy and Nina in the Six of Crows duology. (In all fairness, Nikolai's character is of the type that often works best when seen from a POV other than his own.) On the other hand . . . maybe the second book will be better since I won't have such high expectations? And I do want to see how things end.

8. Broken (In the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson (April 6). I read Jenny's other two books over the last couple months, and while I didn't love them, they have a certain mad charm to them. So, I'm looking forward to reading Broken (and I hope I enjoy it, because I won a copy off Goodreads and it would therefore be a shame if I end up disliking it). If nothing else, her books are always an interesting shift from my usual speculative fiction fare.

9. The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman (April 6). Here's a little sci-fi to liven up the list! Though apparently this is actually a blend of sci-fi and fantasy, which just makes it even better. And we've got an evil AI, which always makes for an interesting story . . . though it also means I'll end up comparing however they portray AI to what we talked about when I took a class on the philosophy of AI, so there's that.

10. A Thieving Curse by Selina R. Gonzalez (April 7). I am always immensely fond of Beauty and the Beast retellings, and dragons, of course, just make everything better! So, of course, I'm very excited to have discovered this book in time to feature it. There's also a preorder campaign with some pretty nice book swag, for anyone who's inclined to order the book early! (I'm torn between that and saving my money for a Werewolf of Whitechapel paperback, personally.) Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that beautiful cover art?

 11. Love and Memory by Kendra E. Ardnek (April 19). It's been a while since Kendra's brought us back to Rizkaland, but the wait is very nearly over! One of Kendra's greatest strengths as a writer is that she's often willing and eager to ask "What happens next?" where other authors might write "Happily Ever After" (or "Unhappily Ever After," as the case may be) and be done with it. That's one of the things I love about her Bookania Quests, and I'm immensely excited to see her do it again in Love and Memory. Petra, Reuben, Andrew, and Clara may be home from Rizkaland . . . but now they have to figure out how to pick up the pieces of their lives, and, well . . . let's just say it's a struggle.

12. Invading Hell by Bryan Davis (April 16/May 15). This is the second book in the Oculus Gate series, the first of which released last summer. (I posted my thoughts on that book, Heaven Came Down, as a Friday 5s post, if you want to read them.) While I had mixed feelings about the end of book 1, I'm excited to see some of my favorite characters (by which I mostly mean Leo and Iona) again. And, hey, you know when you pick up a Bryan Davis that it's guaranteed to be out of the ordinary.

13. Luck of the Titanic by Stacy Lee (May 4). I feel like this is going to be a tragedy on some level. I get the impression that most Titanic stories are. (I only have two data points to draw from, though, so I could be wrong.) It sounds like it has a lot of potential, though, and it's a sibling story, so I'm looking forward to that.

14. Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa (May 11). Nomance! Non-European fantasy! Conspiracies! Secrets! Lore! And also a main character who's described as a "scholar," which I hope means he'll have some delightful moments of "The thing I learned about . . . the thing I studied . . . it's real and now and right in front of me oh this is so cool." I would also accept some moments of "Danger? What danger? This is an unprecedented research opportunity!" (Side note: I think I may've just realized another reason I really like the Stormlight Archives.)

15. The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman (May 15). Something about this book's blurb is giving me Knight and Rogue-but-way-darker vibes, and I'm here for it. I really hope we get a delightful friendship between the main characters; any kind of positive relationship between the straight-laced, honorable noble warrior and the clever, sneaky, live-by-my-wits-and-my-speed rogue tends to be so much fun to read. Also, apparently there's a kraken. Or multiple kraken. And I'm so here for that too.

16. The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green (May 16). For those unaware, The Anthropocene Reviewed was originally a podcast created by John Green, in which he reviews parts of the world and society on a five-star scale. He covers everything from Canada Geese to Diet Dr. Pepper to pineapple on pizza to plague in a gentle, meditative fashion, discussing the history of the thing and how it impacts and reflects aspects of the world as a whole. I've only listened to a small portion of it (I'm not a big podcast person, unlike . . . basically the rest of the world, it seems like), but I enjoyed what I did listen to. I'm looking forward to seeing what I love translated into my favorite form of media.

17. The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis (May 18). This is a historical urban fantasy with maybe a hint of mystery? It sounds like it might be a mystery, and we all know I hope it's a mystery. Early reviews are coming in mixed, but the blurb sounds good. And it sounds like we may be getting some science and magic mixing, which I almost always enjoy.

What book releases are you excited for this spring? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Have I Read You Yet?

Hey'a, everyone! I'm currently recovering from getting my wisdom teeth out, so weekend Sarah wrote and scheduled this post to save midweek Sarah a bit of stress. (Note from midweek Sarah: reports of wisdom-teeth-recovery-frustration were greatly exaggerated. The fact that I'm staying off any strong pain meds probably helps. But since weekend Sarah went to all the trouble . . . on with the post!)

So, four years ago (plus a few days), I wrote a Top Ten Tuesdays post about popular authors whose books I'd never read. Having recently rediscovered said post, I thought that revisiting it would be fun so I could see how many of those popular authors I've now read and how many I still haven't.

Have I Read You Yet?

1. The Author: J.K. Rowling

I said then: "Harry Potter is one of the few series that my parents have ever specifically said I'm not allowed to read. I'm ok with that."

Have I read her?: So, I seriously planned to go my entire life without reading Harry Potter . . . but then, one by one, friends who I knew and trusted read it and told me how awesome it was. And somehow, I ended up reading so many theories and headcanons and fanfics and "Friendly reminder that . . ." posts that I basically knew most of the in-jokes and a fair bit of the plot. And at that point, I was curious enough to say that, if I was going to know this much about the fandom and be this invested in it, I might as well just join it. So I'm currently reading the series, though I'm a bit stuck between books 3 and 4 because of schoolwork and reviews and travel. (So far, Lupin, Sirius, and the Weasleys are the best, though I'm not as in love with the novels as I would be had I read them earlier.)

2. The Author: Rick Riordan 

I said then: "The whole descendants-of-gods thing kind of turned me off. It's one thing when it's the actual mythology; it's another when it's set in modern day."

Have I read him? Again, I was planning to never actually read these . . . but then friends kept talking about how great they are, even more so than Harry Potter. And my roommate happens to be a huge fan of these, and these happened to be the most easily accessible urban fantasy, plus I was on a Greek kick last school year, and . . . yeah. They're pretty awesome, or the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series are. I haven't read the Trials of Apollo or Magnus Chase yet, and I'm not sure if I will.

3. The Author: Ally Carter

I said then: "I've said a few times that I'm going to try one of her books. It obviously hasn't happened yet."

Have I read her? Yep. Heist Society is pretty fun and I might eventually reread it one of these days. Gallagher Girls I wasn't as impressed with, but it was still fairly enjoyable.

4. The Author: John Green

I said then: "No, I haven't even read The Fault in Our Stars. I don't plan on changing that. There are other books that interest me much more."

Have I read him? Still haven't read The Fault in Our Stars, but I did read Turtles All the Way Down and really enjoyed it! Plus I'm an avid vlogbrothers watcher, so there's that. 

5. The Author: William Shakespeare

I said then: I've read several adaptations of his work, but never the actual plays. I will have by the end of this school year, though. Romeo and Juliet I'll be reading for literature, and I still want to read Hamlet at some point too."

Have I read him? Yes. I've read Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Much Ado About Nothing, plus I listened to a dramatization of A Midsummer Night's Dream. So far, Much Ado is my absolute favorite, mostly because the hate-to-love trope is so much fun and Beatrice and Benedict are magnificent snarkmasters. I still haven't read Hamlet, though. Shame on me for that. 

6. The Author: Brandon Sanderson

I said then: "I think he's popular? I know several people who really like his books. I haven't heard much about them, but I'm pretty sure they're fantasy and I'm considering looking into them over the summer. (Or whenever I run out of new books to read. Whichever happens first.)"

Have I read him? Well, one of his books has appeared near the top of my "Best of" lists every year for the last few years . . . and I've developed a whole AU combining Mistborn and Berstru . . . and I've made a Mistcloak . . . and I apparently yell about Sanderson's books so much that one of my friends associates me with him on the same level that Cait Grace is associated with Maggie Stiefvater, so . . . I think that answers the question.

7. The Author: Erin Hunter

I said then: "Are the Warriors books even still popular? Anyone know? I used to know several people who were into them. I even joined a roleplay or two based on the books. (I'm weird that way. I joined a Hunger Games based RP before I read THG.) But I never actually read them. "

Have I read her? Nope. Are these still even a thing? They can't possibly still be a thing, right?  

8. The Author: Cassandra Clare

I said then: "Her books sound interesting, but also very much  . . . not sure what the word is, but I don't want to get into it."

Have I read her? The word 2014-me was looking for was mature, or possibly sketchy, and due to those two descriptors, I still haven't read Mortal Instruments or whatever else she writes. I have been tempted once or twice, but then I look at what I know and I'm like, "y'know, no." 

9. The Author: Stephanie Morrill

I said then: "I'm a big fan of the Go Teen Writers blog, which she writes for. I have e-copies of two of her books. I think that her Ellie Sweet series sounds pretty cool, what with the main character being a writer and all. But I have yet to actually read any of her work."

Have I read her? Still no. I want to read Ellie Sweet eventually, but when there's so much epic fantasy and steampunk and so on, well, it's hard to find the motivation for contemporary, even writer-contemporary.  

10. The Author: Stephen R. Lawhead

I said then: "I thought about reading one of his series, I think the King Arthur ones, at one point. But I couldn't find them at the library, and I think I heard something about mature content, so I decided not to. "

Have I read him? No, but I really want to read the Bright Empires series because Deborah O'Carroll keeps raving about it. I actually got the first book out over Christmas break, but I ran out of time to read it. Oh well. Maybe this summer . . .  

How many of these authors have you read? Are thre any authors who you thought you'd avoid and then ended up reading and loving? Please tell me in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

 -Sarah (Leilani Sunblade) 

 

 

End-of-Year Book Freakout "Tag" 2017

2017 is nearly at an end, y'all . . . and that means it's time for the second half of my "Best of" book roundup! Once again, I'm using my modified End-of-Year Book Freakout tag because that's a lot more fun than just trying to compile a list of X favorites (and low-key angsting about how to pick one book over another because they're ALL awesome, just in different ways and yeah). So, let's go!

1. Best book you've read in the second half of 2017:

I've read a lot of good books this half of the year . . . but since this is the best book, not the best sequel, I'm going to say that this is a tie between two:

Before She Ignites is pretty unusual for the fantasy genre, particularly YA fantasy. Most of it takes place in a prison. There's not a lot of action and quite a lot of political maneuvering. A few characters have special powers, but those aren't the focus. It's not set in a facsimile of Medieval Europe but rather in a country reminiscent of some of the Pacific Islands. The main character is the Chosen One, in a sense, but that's almost an arbitrary title, and she's really an ordinary girl in an extraordinary position. And the book actually touches on some pretty serious real issues and, in my opinion, handles them well. Plus, there's dragons. What more could you want?

Weave a Circle Round is another rather unusual book, one that involves time travel and stories and a personification of the eternal conflict between Reason and Chaos. I'm very fond of the last bit. Any story with a personification of chaos is practically guaranteed to be awesome. This is Kari Maaren's first novel, but she's the author/artist of two of my favorite webcomics, West of Bathurst and It Never Rains. True to the form established in those stories, Weave a Circle Round begins as almost magical realism or very odd contemporary, with all the strangeness probably explainable by natural causes or unreliable senses . . . but then the time travel kicks in. Also as usual, the protagonist of Weave a Circle Round tends to, as the author puts it, "muddle through" her adventure, which, honestly, is what I'd probably do in her place and is quite relatable on the whole.

Also, while it's not quite as high on the list, I'd like to mention Wanted: A Superhero to Save the World, Bryan Davis's latest release. It's middle-grade, but super fun and pretty unique for a superhero novel.

2. Best sequel you've read in the second half of 2017:

I think we all know what I'm going to say here:

I'm technically still reading Oathbringer, Brandon Sanderson's latest release, but it's easily shaping up to be not just one of the best sequels of the year but one of the best books overall. We've got answers, we've got new questions, we've got increased conflict both external and internal, we've got spren both awesome (allo, Syl and Pattern!) and creepy . . .  And we've got Dalinar flashbacks, which is interesting, to say the least. Dalinar was very different in his youth from the man we know now. Also, Shallan is awesome even if she's making me a bit nervous currently. Just sayin'.

Of course, there are a few other sequels that are well worth mentioning. In order of publication:

Thick as Thieves had a distinct lack of Eugenides but managed to be awesome anyway. Plus it's a Persia-esque setting, which is pretty unique.

And The Dire King was a magnificent finale to the series- epic, thrilling, feels-heavy but not lacking in the usual Jackaby humor, with an ending that's just- I can't even. I can't.

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to: 

There are a few more of these than I'd like . . . college life is not exactly what you'd call convenient for keeping up with new releases unless you're willing to spend a small fortune every month and have a lot of storage space. That said, at the top of the list is:

The Lost Plot! The latest Invisible Library book! It's out, it's out, it's ouuuuuuuttttttt! (And I didn't realize it until earlier this week!) And I need it yesterday!

Of course, there's a few others that I'm also looking forward to. For example:

The Empty Grave is the latest and last in the Lockwood and Co. series, and while I nearly gave up on it after The Hollow Boy, The Creeping Shadow convinced me to see the series through to the end.

An Enchantment of Ravens sounds like a unique fantasy story; a bit heavier on the romance than I think I usually read, but still fun, and it's gotten great reviews from a lot of my friends.

Renegades is the latest book from Marissa Meyer. From the reviews and excerpts I've read, I'm not expecting to like this as much as I do The Lunar Chronicles, but it should still be pretty cool.

4. Most anticipated release for next year:

Brandon Sanderson is releasing another YA novel! It's called Skyward and is apparently a sci-fi take on the "boy and his dragon" storyline, involving mysterious aliens, a girl who wants to be a pilot, and a sentient (or, at least, soul-bearing) spaceship. Sanderson says that it's not in the Cosmere or Reckoners universes, but that it is in the continuity of something else he's written. So, that means it could be connected to Alcatraz, the Legion books, Perfect State, Snapshot, or The Rithmatist. I'm not sure which it'll be, but my money's on Perfect State, since the premise of that universe allows for near-infinite genres and storylines.

A few other books I'm excited for:

Ink, Iron, and Glass I mentioned in my Winter 2017-18 Reads post, but if you missed that: it's steampunk, involves writers who can bring their worlds to life, and generally sounds pretty awesome.

The Penderwicks at Last is the final book in a series I've been reading for a while now. It's contemporary, but I love it anyway, and while I'm sad the series is almost over, I'm excited to see how it ends.

And, finally, Fawkes is historical fantasy and should be pretty exciting. Plus, while I haven't read anything by Nadine Brandes yet, I've heard she's a very good author.

5. Biggest disappointment:

Shadow Run was undoubtedly the biggest disappointment of the entire year. I was promised Firefly and a very cool premise. Instead, I got the biggest mess of cliches I'd read in a long while and a romance that completely overshadowed the actual plot. Yeah. I'm still bitter, if you can't tell.

6. Biggest surprise:

I don't normally read contemporary; quite honestly, I associate it with romantic fluff, overblown teenage angst, boy/friendship drama, and questionable content. So, while I enjoy John Green from vlogbrothers and such, I was a bit nervous when I ended up reading Turtles All the Way Down so I could review it for my college newspaper. Yet this book is honestly one of the better ones I've read this year; it's powerful and poignant and philosophical, and, yes, there's angst and drama, but it's well done, and the story touches that deeper Reality which is so vibrant in the good spec-fic I love. Plus, there's a refreshing lack of romantic fluff (even less than in most fantasy novels) and, other than one scene, not a lot of questionable content either.

7. Favorite new-to-you author:

I'm going to go with Kyle Robert Schultz, author of The Beast of Talesend and the rest of the Beaumont and Beasley books. I've only read the first of these books, but it was wonderful and mysterious and steampunky and a brilliant mix of fairy tale and original material and yeah. I want to read the rest of the series yesterday.

8. Newest fictional crush/ship:

Um. I don't really have any new crushes or ships that I feel strongly about? So instead I'm just going to say that Charlie and Abigail from Jackaby are still one of the best things ever, as is Shadolin Shallan x Adolin) from the Stormlight Archive. (Shaladin shippers, I refer you to literally every interaction between Shallan and Adolin in Part 1 of Oathbringer.) Also, I knew (spoiler for Ghostly Echoes + The Dire King) Jackaby and Jenny were a thing, but I didn't realize just how much I like them as a thing until I read The Dire King.

9. Newest favorite characters:

Oooooh. Definitely new people here.

• Nick, Cordelia, and Crispin from The Beast of Talesend are absolutely perfect and I love their personalities and character dynamics and interactions and YES.
• Cuerva Lachance from Weave a Circle Round is . . . I don't even know how to properly describe her. She's mysterious and enigmatic and strange and amusing and terrifying and does things because they're impossible and might be one of my favorite parts of the book.  
• I rediscovered how awesome Ransom from C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy is. I have some friends who really like him, and yeah, I can see why. I'm also 99.9% certain that he's based off Tolkien, so . . . yeah.
• Eddie, Damocles, and Gilbert from Wanted: A Superhero to Save the World are all also awesome in their own way: Eddie's super relatable for a 12-year-old boy, Damocles is . . . he's a character and I sometimes don't quite know what to do with him, but he's interesting and I love him, and Gilbert is just fun. So, yeah.

I feel like I should have someone from Harry Potter on here, since I finally started reading the series? But while I do quite like certain characters (*cough*everyWeasleyeveryes*cough*andalsoHagrid*cough*), I'm not sure if they make the top list? Plus I read so many AU and headcanon sort of things on Pinterest that I don't always know what in my head is real about the characters and what's just something that someone else came up with. It's a problem. 

10. A book that made you cry:

No crying, but while reading The Dire King, the conclusion to the Jackaby series, I did much "Nonononono"-ing. Also some quiet screaming, not-so-quiet keening, and possibly a bit of whimpering. The book killed me with feels, basically. I'm still not over it.

11. A book that made you happy:

A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans is absolutely adorable, ok? It's got a precocious young girl and a crotchety old lady dragon and a lovely mixing of magic and reality and just makes my heart happy in general. The rest of the series is good too, but the first book is undoubtedly the best.

12. Favorite book to film adaptation you've seen this half of the year:

Um. I rewatched the LOTR extended editions. Does that count?

13. Favorite post(s) you've done this half of the year:

I really enjoyed finally writing my Plantser's Guide to Worldbuilding! Also, I wrote a thing. It involves food, love, and magic, and what else do you really need in life?

14. Most beautiful book you've bought/received this half of the year:

I'm going to take a moment to gush again about the prettiness of the new version of Do You Take This Quest? Story-wise, it's still not my favorite of the Bookania Quests, but the cover is my favorite; I love the purple and the watercolor feel and the softness and it just makes me happy for some reason.

15. Any other books you want to babble about for any other reason?

As per the usual, a few books that I still need to read even though they're no longer really recent releases:

Exiles by Jaye L. Knight remains on my TBR list, despite the fact that I've owned the book since September. I hope to fix that by the end of break, though. And eventually I need to break this wait-forever-to-read-Ilyon streak that I have going.

 The Last Magician came out in July, but I haven't been able to get ahold of it until now because libraries are uncooperative. Also, college. I checked it out from the library yesterday; hopefully I'll manage to read it before break ends.

I still haven't read The Lord of Chaos or any other Wheel of Time books, despite the fact that I own significantly more of them. In my defense, they're long and not half as exciting as Sanderson, and therefore I have to work myself up to them.

Also, I finally got ahold of the whole Spellsmith and Carver series, including an actual physical copy of the first book, so I really want to read those . . . I just have to find the right time, when another book isn't higher priority.

And there you have it! Feel free to borrow this tag for your own end-of-year posts or to answer in comments any of the questions that piqued your interest. I'd love to hear what you've been reading lately!

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)