Top Ten Books on my Fall TBR | Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. 

The Fall is here, I love that time of the year. I love to read paranormal books, because

(Ahem)

So, there are a few new releases that I have to read of course, but I don't particularly include those (like Winter and The Sword of Summer), but it's a little obvious. Let's see the creepy and monstrous books I'll read this Fall.

1. LAIR OF DREAMS BY LIBBA BRAY

I own it since its release, but I didn't want to read it before Halloween, because it is one of those perfect books for that time. It's set in New York in the 1920s, with paranormal crimes and characters with powers. For example, the main character lives at her uncle in a paranormal museum, isn't it perfect?

2. LIBRARY OF SOULS BY RANSOM RIGGS

The atmosphere of this book is sooo Halloween-esque, look at the cover! The photos inside! Just for that, I have to read it. It's also with teenagers that have powers, so yeeees. And it's out at the end of September.

3. THE CREEPING BY ALEXANDRA SIROWY

I'm not entirely sure of the synopsis, because I heard about this book months ago, but apparently, it's creepy (no, I'm not saying that because of the title) and I want to be scared by a book, but I also want to sleep at night - I don't make a lot of sense, I know.

4. THE ACCIDENT SEASON BY MOÏRA FOWLEY-DOYLE

I don't remember much of the synopsis either, but it's set in October, so I have to read it... In October. It deals with a main character whose family has accident every October. It might be magical realism, we'll see.

5. FIREWALKER BY JOSEPHINE ANGELINI

Witches! Parallel worlds! What could go wrong? Nothing at all... ;) I loved the first book and I can't wait to pick the second one up, the Fall is the perfect time for that.

6. ICE LIKE FIRE BY SARA RAASCH

Snow like Ashes was amaaaazing. Really. Go read if you haven't, it's high fantasy. The kingdoms are (mostly) based upon seasons, so of course I have to read it this Fall. I know, I could read it any season. I just want it so badly. October 13th, coooome to me!

7. A CURIOUS TALE OF THE IN-BETWEEN BY LAUREN DESTEFANO

It is a middle-grade story about a girl that can talk to ghosts. Do you need more? Do you? I read the first chapter on Amazon, I'm looking forward to discover that story. The first sentence is enough to make you want the book: "Pram died just before she was born".

8. THE SWEET FAR THING BY LIBBA BRAY

I am so late to this party, because I read the first two books, but I bought the last one in June. It was a little stupid, because it is the kind of book I want to read in the Fall. It has magic, parallel realms and is set in Victorian England *fangirls*. I loved the first two, so I'm on board!

9. SIX OF CROWS BY LEIGH BARDUGO

It's just that I'm excited. Six outcasts, one impossible heist. YESSSSS.

10. SLASHER GIRLS AND MONSTER BOYS BY A LOT OF YA AUTHORS LIKE MARIE LU AND LEIGH BARDUGO

Apparently, this is scary. It's a collection of short stories, so a) you can discover new authors b) if you don't like one story, you jump to the next c) you can read it during all the Fall months. I'm excited but I have goose bumps thinking about it, haha.

Which books are you planning to read this Fall?

The Book of Ivy | Book Review

Title: The Book of Ivy (The Book of Ivy #1)

Author: Amy Engel

Published: November 4th 2014 by Entangled: Teen

Goodreads summary: After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual. 

This year, it is my turn. 

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power. 

But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.

Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…

REVIEW

I really enjoyed this book. Amy Engel was able to create a strong world, I honestly think we know everything that's important about it, without info dump. Of course, there are a lot of elements that you can find in so many other dystopias, starting with the fact that Westfall is a close city, just like Chicago in Divergent or Portland (I think it was this one?) in Delirium, that going outside isn't possible, except for those who are to be punished.

Storywise, there wasn't a lot going on, but it was expected because of Ivy's mission, it was more about day to day action, but there was a lot of psychological and ideological development. Indeed, that's something I enjoyed a lot: all her life, Ivy's family makes her learn and believe certain things, but when she's married to Bishop, she starts to question everything, that was so interesting. However, I know the next book will be more action-packed, because of the ending.

I really enjoyed the characters and the romance. The romance was slowly built throughout the book, it didn't feel to pushed. The characters made me feel so many things and my heart is aching for them because of what happened. We didn't meet a lot of characters though, it was just their families, a co-worker and some neighbours. I hope new characters will be introduced in the next one.

The Book of Ivy was a great dystopia, even if I found it to be a little predictable, but I might think that because I read so many novels in that genre. It ended abruptly and I'm really looking forward to read the second book, even if I'll be probably really sad because of the romance.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda | Book Review

Title: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Author: Becky Albertalli

Published: April 7th 2015 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads summary: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

REVIEW

As a side note, don't you think everyone should have to come out? Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another, and it should be this big awkward thing whether you're straight, gay, bi, or whatever. 

I didn't expect to love this novel as much as I did, because I'm hard to please with contemporaries. I always prefer the cute and coming of age stories, that one was like that. I had a hard time when I started this book because I was in a reading slump, I started it at the middle of August and finished it in September. It was hard to remember who character was who, but after that, I totally enjoyed my time reading this book. 

Simon is such a genuine character that us, bookworms, could easily relate to: he likes to have his grammar straight and he loves Harry Potter, like he dresses up as a dementor for Halloween and he's like "You're not my friend anymore" at some girl who doesn't know what that is. Moreover, he likes Oreos, I'm hungry because of that while writing this review. 

He has such a supportive family, who loves him the way he is, I really liked that. His friends are also really supportive, and their relationships were realistic, because they had their ups and downs. 

I really enjoyed the emails with Blue, and I'm happy because I guessed who it was! Blue and Simon are so, so cute together, it was such an heart warming romance. Moreover, it's more about falling in love with someone by getting to know him without any idea of what that person looks like.

It was a cute romance, of course coming out was hard for Simon because of some events, but I liked the way the author dealt with that subject, in fact, that novel was full of hope.

Did you read this book? What did you think of it? For those who didn't, are you interested? 

A New Hope | Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine in which we discuss our most anticipated upcoming releases. 

Title: A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy (Star Wars Illustrated Novels #1)

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Published: September 22nd 2015 by Disney LucasFilm Press

Goodreads summary: Acclaimed, New York Times best-selling author Alexandra Bracken delivers a captivating retelling of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope like you've never experienced before, infusing the iconic, classic tale of good versus evil with a unique perspective and narrative style that will speak directly to today's young readers while enhancing the Star Wars experience for core fans of the saga. 

This illustrated novel is the first in the highly-anticipated series and features richly detailed art by celebrated Star Wars concept artist Iain McCaig. Fans old and new will be delighted by this beautifully crafted book and the unexpected twists in this retelling of a beloved story.

MY THOUGHTS

When I saw Alexandra Bracken was writing a book based on Star Wars, I got so excited. I loved her work in the Darkest Minds and I can't wait to discover Passenger. I don't remember much about the Star Wars movies, to be honest, so I think it will almost be a new story to me. I read the first three chapters online and I'm pretty confident it will be epic, the introduction put me in the mood right away. I probably won't read the other books in this series, it's just that I think the equation Alexandra Bracken + Star Wars will be a success.

Are you excited about this book? What are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Ten Underhyped books | Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is a free one, and I have a feeling I thought hours to find a topic, but I finally found one, yay! There are books we hear about a lot, but when you read them, they're not that great. Lately, I've read a few books that hadn't so much hype around them, which is a bit sad, because I thought they were great. This week, I'm going to focus on these books, the underhyped ones.

1. STOLEN SONGBIRD BY DANIELLE L. JENSEN 

I posted a review for that book a few days ago, but like I said, I heard about it because Goodreads hosted a giveaway a year ago, and after that… Nothing. I had forgotten about this book, in fact. It's a great high fantasy set in a world inspired from French culture, with trolls. Those trolls are hidden under a mountain because of a curse of five centuries. Of course, they are trying to break it, and apparently, only a human young woman could do it. Our main character, Cécile, is abducted and sold to trolls, because some of them believe she could be the key to their problem. That's where our story begins… I enjoyed this book a lot, the character development was so well done, there isn't insta-love or anything. I can't wait to pick up the sequel, Hidden Huntress.

2. DAUGHTER OF DEEP SILENCE BY CARRIE RYAN 

This book was released a few months ago, but I didn't heard much about it either. If you liked Revenge, the TV show, you will love this book. I can't tell you too much about it but it's about a girl who is saved from a ship wreck, then she learns that there are two other survivors… But they lied about the wreck. For that wreck that killed her friend and her whole family, she wants revenge and the truth. And she will do whatever it takes to have it. I read this book in one setting, because I was so hooked into the story.

3. TALON BY JULIE KAGAWA 

I heard a lot about her Iron Fey and her Blood of Eden series, but not this one. It's an urban fantasy with dragons, which I find super refreshing, because these creatures are in high fantasy, most of the time. Dragons are part of an organization named Talon, when they're 16-17, they have to live among humans for a few months, as part of their trainings. Ember and Dante are unusual, because they're twins. They have to succeed at living as humans, to finish their trainings and know what they will do for the rest of their lives. But in the mean time, an agent of the order of St. George (who hunts and kills dragons) is sent to their location. The heart starts to get involved, and one of the twins might go rogue…

4. ROOK BY SHARON CAMERON 

This is such an unusual book: it's a dystopia inspired from the French Revolution. Our main character, Sophia, who lives in the United Kingdom, is reluctant to marry a French gentleman, René. But their fates are much more complicated than that, because the Rook (a Robin Wood who saves the peoples that should be killed under the Razor in the City of Light) seems to be involved with them… And he's searched by the whole French government, to be put down.

5. INK AND BONE BY RACHEL CAINE

I'm not a big fan of dystopias at the moment, because they usually follow the same schems. I was intrigued by this one because it was a world where the Great Library had survived, and ruled the world we know. Being part of the Library is a great honor, and our main character is trying to be in, to serve as a spy for his family, who runs the black market of books in London. This book has an academic setting, is full of plot twists and no one is safe. Oh, and by the way, people like Gutenberg who wanted to improve the book industry are considered heretic and are killed.

6. DREAM A LITTLE DREAM BY KERSTIN GIER

This author wrote the Ruby Red trilogy. Dream a little dream was translated in English and published in April, or something like that. It's the story of Liv, who arrives in London for another year of school (her mom travels a lot, she has been a little everywhere), which won't be as boring as the others. She starts to do strange dreams, where four boys of her school are involved. What about it those dreams were real? This book made me think a little of the Raven Boys, for the atmosphere, the plot isn't the same. I really enjoyed it, I can't wait for the second book to come out. If only I could read German *sighs*… The German covers are gorgeous…

7. JACKABY BY WILLIAM RITTER

This book is pitched as "Doctor Who meets Sherlock Holmes". Set in 1892 in New Fiddleham (New England), this book follows Miss Abigail Rook as she tries to find a job and not go back to England, where her parents want her to be a lady. She meets a mysterious Mr Jackaby, a peculiar detective, who searches an assistant. She finds out that Jackaby only investigate the impossible (all cases with magic) and that it could be very dangerous for her life to follow him.

8. THE GLASS SENTENCE BY S.E. GROVE

This is a fantasy where every part of the world is set in a different time period, because of what is called "the Great Disruption". After Sophia's uncle is abducted, she tries to find him with the help of special maps - because her family has the best mapmakers in the world. Apparently, the whole world is in danger because of the Disruption, and finding the people who abducted her uncle could be the key to find her parents who disappeared during a trip in Europe and saving the world.

9. THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE BY CYNTHIA HAND

I feel like I'm mentioning this book all the time, because it didn't get as much love as I was here, My heart and other black holes and All the bright places. This book is about suicide, like those mentioned before, but it's the best of them. It's such a genuine story and it made me cry so much… But overall, it was beautiful.

10. THE STARS NEVER RISE BY RACHEL VINCENT

Another dystopia, and here I was, saying it wasn't my cup of tea lately ;) But seriously, I don't read as much dystopia as I used to, and I either love or hate them, there is no in-between. This dystopia was a world were humanity has to deal with demons, so the society is ruled by a very powerful Church. When Nina gets involved with demons, she discovers that there are much the Church doesn't tell people… And she's in the middle of it all. The world-building of this book was SO GOOD, I still can't deal with that. It doesn't end on a cliff-hanger, but there is room for so much!

Which books are underhyped in your opinion? Give me recommendations ;)

Alive | Book Review

Title: Alive (The Generations Trilogy #1)

Author: Scott Sigler

Published: July 14th 2015 by Del Rey

Goodreads summary: From New York Times bestselling author Scott Sigler comes something utterly new: a gripping sci-fi adventure trilogy in the vein of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Maze Runner. A group of young adults awake in a mysterious enclosed space with no knowledge of who they are or how they got there…and an indomitable young woman must lead them not only to answers but to survival.

A young woman awakes trapped in an enclosed space. She has no idea who she is or how she got there. With only her instincts to guide her, she escapes her own confinement—and finds she’s not alone. She frees the others in the room and leads them into a corridor filled with the remains of a war long past. The farther these survivors travel, the worse are the horrors they confront. And as they slowly come to understand what this prison is, they realize that the worst and strangest possibilities they could have imagined don’t even come close to the truth.

REVIEW

The premise of this novel was really intriguing and there was so much promotion for this book on BookTube (with the spear on book hauls and everything) that I really wanted to read this book. It seemed to contain everything I liked. But then, it went wrong. The beginning was really abrupt, with short sentences and it made me totally hooked on this story. It is always a good way to start a novel, but when it goes on during the whole story, it gets annoying. A LOT.

Our main character wakes up in a coffin without knowing anything -even her name- except it's her 12th birthday. However, she's in the body of a 20 years old woman. She rambles a lot about everyone is beautiful. It was really boring. They all have strange symbols on their forehead, but I'm not even sure we know why. Maybe it was explained and I missed out, but it doesn't really matter. This main character is a total snowflake, she became leader for no apparent reason.

"I answer him in a whisper. ‘But why? Why do they follow me? I have no idea what I’m doing.’ He shrugs. ‘Because there’s something about you.’"

I thought the mystery was really intriguing and at first, all I wanted was answers. Then, I got bored 65% in and almost didn't finish this book (in fact, that's the point where you start getting answers). The issue was the characters didn't do anything except walking. At some point, I decided to skip a part and the chapter started by "We run downhill", then I went back and it was "We walk uphill". It upset me so much, I wanted much more to happen.

I was really disappointed by the ending, because it was similar to books I read last year and the execution was better than this one. I totally see where it will lead to in the second book and I'm really not interested. To be honest I'm disappointed. Moreover, there might be a love triangle in the next books. Personally, I don't care, because I won't be there to see it.

Stolen Songbird | Book Review

Title: Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1)

Author: Danielle L. Jensen

Published: April 1st 2014 by Strange Chemistry

Goodreads summary: For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the mountain. When Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she realises that the trolls are relying on her to break the curse.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind: escape. But the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time…

But the more time she spends with the trolls, the more she understands their plight. There is a rebellion brewing. And she just might be the one the trolls were looking for...

REVIEW

This book caught me off guard, I'm pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. I first heard of this book last year, when there was a giveaway on Goodreads, but that's all. I picked it up randomly, because I loooove high fantasy, and I was curious about trolls. I didn't like the trolls in Frostfire a few months ago, but I wanted to give these creatures the benefice of the doubt, and I was right.

This book is set in a French inspired world, a city is called Trianon (like Marie-Antoinette's little castles in the château de Versailles), the main character is named Cécile de Troyes, and so on. For once, it wasn't painful to read a book set in something that looked like France, and I'm so happy about it. I also liked the trolls' world, who looked so much like Cécile's and the fact that Trollus was located under a mountain made me uncomfortable (hi, claustrophobia!), which made me want for Cécile to escape (just like she wanted). However, I found the name of the city to be simplistic, I'm sure the author could have find something better for a city of trolls, but that's details.

I could believe in this trolls, that are deadly because they are beautiful, but at the same time deformed, which made them looked like monsters. They are cruel, like show their history, and feels utterly superior toward humans and half bloods. Of course, they also have magic. I liked that Jensen explained how trolls came to the now called trolls, they didn't appear out of nowhere. 

As a main character, Cécile was fantastic. Of course, she seems to be a little helpless at the beginning, but she accepts her fate, even if at the same time, she fights for her freedom. She went through a lot of character development during this book, it was so well done. She doesn't hesitate to fight for what she believes in, she even cares for Trollus' habitants, when she has been kidnapped on orders of the king. It's also a good idea to name the different books in this series because of Cécile: in the first, she is the stolen songbird, in the second, she is a hidden huntress. Yes. Also, Cécile isn't a human amongst others, she proves herself resourceful and I can't wait for her to work on her gifts (I don't want to spoil but welllll).

Of course, there is also Tristan, her husband. He is totally despicable at first, but he has reasons for being so. He isn't the kind of heir that want to walk in his royal daddy's footsteps, it made him such an interesting character. I liked that the romance between Cécile and him didn't feel forced, they went from hostile strangers to friends to lovers. I totally ship them together and I'm pretty sure there won't be any love triangle, so well done, Danielle L. Jensen. 

The story was fast-paced, there is action in the first chapter and that made me want to read MORE. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to read at the moment, but I caught up and I'm glad I did. The plot was executed well, it's about a curse to break, but also a rebellion and Cécile trying to be part of the court. 

The secondary characters weren't inconsistent, they were there quite often and had their backstory, like Marc. Anaïs really came at a surprise, I thought she would be the evil troll who would try to steal Tristan from Cécile, but she was a little more complicated than that. 

Overall, I loved this book and I can't wait to pick up the sequel. It's an amazing debut and I congratulate Danielle Jensen. I had a really good time with these characters and everything was believable: for example, the rest of the world doesn't know about trolls because of oaths made by the humans going in Trollus, they can't speak about it; humans just know about trolls because of legends. I highly suggest you to read it.

Have you read this book? Are you interested? Do you know other books about trolls?