Waiting on Wednesday: SUFFER LOVE by Ashley Herring Blake

After the huge week of fantasy novels that was last week, I think it's best if we move back into contemporary novels, yes? Here is a retelling of ROMEO & JULIET that I am dying for. I'd probably even stab myself in the chest for it (*wink*). Say hello to...

SUFFER LOVE by Ashley Herring Blake

Title: SUFFER LOVE

Author: Ashley Herring Blake

REVIEW: A GATHERING OF SHADOWS by V.E. Schwab

A GATHERING OF SHADOWS

Summary:
It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift – back into Black London.

Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games – an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries – a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.

Title: A GATHERING OF SHADOWS

Author: V.E. Schwab

Series: A Darker Shade of Magic #2

Source: Purchased from Amazon

Publisher: Tor Books

Publication Date: February 23, 2016

Rating: 4.5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

This is the second book in the series! See my review of A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC to get caught up on what I think about this series!

I loved A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC (and everything else V.E. Schwab has written) so I went into this one with high hopes and it delivered. I thought that this was a good sequel, but also felt like a sequel, and that cliffhanger was just rude.

#BookReview: WOLF BY WOLF by Ryan Graudin

WOLF BY WOLF

Summary:
The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule the world. To commemorate their Great Victory over Britain and Russia, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor's ball.

Yael, who escaped from a death camp, has one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year's only female victor, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele twin's brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael's every move. But as Yael begins to get closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?

Title: WOLF BY WOLF

Author: Ryan Graudin

Series: Wolf by Wolf #1

Source: In my OwlCrate!

Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers

Publication Date: October 20, 2015

Rating: 2.5/5 stars 

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

It's Good but not Great or Excellent. Just in the middle. I found it really difficult to believe that this could happen. Not so much that Hitler could have won WW2, but the actual motorcycle race thing was not plausible to me. It seemed out of place in this world and seemed more like a reason to get from Point A to Point B. It was kinda hokey in my opinion. And was so glossed over in the actual story that it felt like a moot point.

8 Most Anticipated May 2016 Releases!

SUMMER OF SLOANE
Author: Erin L. Schneider
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: May 3, 2016

Summary:
Warm Hawaiian sun. Lazy beach days. Flirty texts with her boyfriend back in Seattle.

These are the things seventeen-year-old Sloane McIntyre pictured when she imagined the summer she’d be spending at her mom’s home in Hawaii with her twin brother, Penn. Instead, after learning an unthinkable secret about her boyfriend, Tyler, and best friend, Mick, all she has is a fractured hand and a completely shattered heart.

Once she arrives in Honolulu, though, Sloane hopes that Hawaii might just be the escape she needs. With beach bonfires, old friends, exotic food, and the wonders of a waterproof cast, there’s no reason Sloane shouldn’t enjoy her summer. And when she meets Finn McAllister, the handsome son of a hotel magnate who doesn’t always play by the rules, she knows he’s the perfect distraction from everything that’s so wrong back home.

But it turns out a measly ocean isn’t nearly enough to stop all the emails, texts, and voicemails from her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, desperate to explain away their betrayal. And as her casual connection with Finn grows deeper, Sloane’s carefree summer might not be as easy to find as she’d hoped. Weighing years of history with Mick and Tyler against their deception, and the delicate possibility of new love, Sloane must decide when to forgive, and when to live for herself.  

Preorder:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

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SUMMER OF SUPERNOVAS
Author: Darcy Woods
Publisher: Crown BFYR
Publication Date: May 10, 2016

Summary: 
As the daughter of an expert astrologer, Wilamena Carlisle knows that the truth lies within the stars. So when she discovers a rare planetary alignment, she is forced to tackle her worst astrological fear – The Fifth House of Relationships and Love. But Wil must decide whether a cosmically doomed love is worth rejecting her mother’s legacy, when she falls for a sensitive guitar player hailing from the wrong side of the chart.

Debut author Darcy Woods explores love in all its complexities and how to best honor the loved ones who have passed before us, in a novel packed with both humor and heart.

Preorder:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

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ARC REVIEW: WATER'S WRATH by Elise Kova

WATER'S WRATH by Elise Kova

Summary:
Librarian turned sorcerer. Sorcerer turned hero. Hero turned puppet.

The Solaris Empire found victory in the North and, at the cost of her heart and her innocence, Vhalla Yarl has earned her freedom. But the true fight is only beginning as the secret forces that have been lurking in the shadows, tugging at the strings of Vhalla’s fate, finally come to light. Nowhere is safe, and Vhalla must tread carefully or else she’ll fall into the waiting arms of her greatest foe. Or former lover. 

Title: WATER'S WRATH

Author: Elise Kova

Series: Air Awakens #4

Source: eARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Silver Wing Press

Publication Date: April 26, 2016

Rating: 5/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is BOOK FOUR in a series! I do my best not to spoiler anything from Books 1-3 but some things are unavoidable. You can see my previous reviews for Air Awakens, Fire Falling, and Earth's End.

Perfection doesn't even begin to describe this one. Where do I start? The end? The middle? The end? The part I desperately don't want anyone to mention to me ever again? The beginning where I thought everything was going to be okay because there's still one more book? I don't know because all of it was perfection. 

Waiting on Wednesday: 100 DAYS OF CAKE by Shari Goldhagen

I am steamrolling on the contemporary novels now but once I start, I can't seem to stop. This week I am waiting on what promises to be a quirky and poignant novel about what it means to live. My choice for this week is...

100 DAYS OF CAKE by Shari Goldhagen

Title: 100 DAYS OF CAKE

Author: Shari Goldhagen

ARC Review: LOVE & GELATO by Jenna Evans Welch

LOVE & GELATO

Summary:

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.

But then Lina is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept from Lina for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

Title: LOVE & GELATO

Author: Jenna Evans Welch

Source: ARC via the Publisher

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: May 3, 2016

Rating: 4 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

This was really cute and clever and while I was completely enthralled by the story, I also felt like there was something missing. I think it's because Lina makes all these decisions before she gets to the end of the story and it doesn't really make sense to me. I feel like once she got an idea she just jumped on it rather than think things through and IDK FINISH THE JOURNAL.

REVIEW: THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss

THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss

Summary:
Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

Title: THE NAME OF THE WIND

Author: Patrick Rothfuss

Series: The Kingkiller Chronicles #1

Source: Audiobook from Audible

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: March 27, 2007

Rating: 2/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

I listened to this as an audiobook and I would suggest that you do the same. The narrator was very good and probably the only reason I actually made it to the end of this 18 hour novel. And I saw it was the same narrator for the next one so I almost picked it up but it is 42 hours and I really don't care enough to listen about this pompous douche for another two days. Also, I would have had zero idea how to say Kvothe if it hadn't been for the narration, so yes, I recommend it as an audiobook, but not as an actual novel.

ARC REVIEW: A FIERCE AND SUBTLE POISON by Samantha Mabry

ARC REVIEW: A FIERCE AND SUBTLE POISON

Summary:
In this stunning debut, legends collide with reality when a boy is swept into the magical, dangerous world of a girl filled with poison.

Everyone knows the legends about the cursed girl--Isabel, the one the senoras whisper about. They say she has green skin and grass for hair, and she feeds on the poisonous plants that fill her family’s Caribbean island garden. Some say she can grant wishes; some say her touch can kill.

Seventeen-year-old Lucas lives on the mainland most of the year but spends summers with his hotel-developer father in Puerto Rico. He’s grown up hearing stories about the cursed girl, and he wants to believe in Isabel and her magic. When letters from Isabel begin mysteriously appearing in his room the same day his new girlfriend disappears, Lucas turns to Isabel for answers--and finds himself lured into her strange and enchanted world. But time is running out for the girl filled with poison, and the more entangled Lucas becomes with Isabel, the less certain he is of escaping with his own life.

A Fierce and Subtle Poison beautifully blends magical realism with a page-turning mystery and a dark,  starcrossed romance--all delivered in lush, urgent prose.

Title: A FIERCE AND SUBTLE POISON

Author: Samantha Mabry

Source: eARC via the Publisher:

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Publication Date: April 12, 2016

Rating: 3.5/5

Purchase:
Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little underwhelmed by this one but it was still a good book. I guess I thought from the description that there would be a bit more magic and a little less introspection. It was almost as if the book couldn't decide if it wanted to fully be magical realism or not. I think I was anticipating more magic or at least have it be integrated into the world a bit more. I thought that there just wasn't enough. But let's break it down.

Waiting on Wednesday: JERKBAIT by Mia Siegert

Another contemporary, look at me go! This one mixes hockey with LGBTQ issues, focusing specifically on the G there, and it is one of my most highly anticipated reads of 2016. Period. This seems like everything I could ever want in a book and more. Give it to me right meow. So join me in waiting on...

JERKBAIT by Mia Siegert

Title: JERKBAIT

Author: Mia Siegert

REVIEW: FROZEN TIDES by Morgan Rhodes

FROZEN TIDES by Morgan Rhodes

Summary:
Rebels, royals, and monsters wage war over the Mytican throne in the shocking fourth book of the Falling Kingdoms series, from New York Times bestselling author Morgan Rhodes.

CLEO: Reeling after a bloody showdown in Limeros ending with Amara’s abduction of the water crystal, and a vacancy in the Mytican throne, Princess Cleo must cast aside her feelings and look toward her kingdom with the eyes of a Queen.

MAGNUS: With the kingdom in chaos, Princess Lucia still missing and quite possibly in danger, and a shocking realization about Cleo, the steely prince is once again torn between love and duty, leaving him wondering whether he’s strong enough to rule his people.

LUCIA: The young sorcercess has had her vengeance after the cruel death of her first and only love. Heartbroken and unable to trust anyone, she allies with the awoken Fire god, who also seeks revenge.

JONAS: After escaping death by the skin of his teeth, the defeated rebel—along with a mysterious stranger–leader reunites with Princess Cleo, only to find himself a mere pawn in a dangerous hunt for the elusive Kindred.

KING GAIUS: Abandoned by Melenia and betrayed by his own children, Gaius flees Mytica and sails to Kraeshia, where he attempts to ally with the famously brutal emperor across the Silver Sea.

Title: FROZEN TIDES

Author: Morgan Rhodes

Series: Falling Kingdoms #4

Source: Christmas Present (I think from Costco but ??)

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date: December 15, 2015

Rating: 5/5 stars

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD   

This is book four in a series! There will be spoilers for books 1-3. You can see my NON-SPOILER REVIEW of the Falling Kingdoms series here!

 
I have zero thoughts right now except OH MY GOSH WHAT JUST HAPPENED. Packed with great twists and turns, FROZEN TIDES will not disappoint. It has deception, political intrigue, and badass ladies.

I don't want to spoil anything about this book, so I will be giving you a lowdown about why this series is good. One of the best parts of the FALLING KINGDOMS series is that every action has a consequence. If you do something, whether it be good or evil, it will bite you in the ass. And that is awesome because no one is safe. Even people you think "ah nah, Rhodes can't kill them" die. EVERYONE DIES. And it's great! And while, yes, female characters die to cause pain for men, male characters die to cause pain for females! Again, NO ONE IS SAFE. When it is compared to the A Song of Ice and Fire series, it isn't lying in that respect. Don't get attached because they will probably die in the next chapter.