Would you become who you need to be? | The Beauty of Darkness

The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3) by Mary E. Pearson

Genre: young adult, fantasy

Published: August 2nd 2016 by Henry Holt and Co.

Goodreads summary: Lia and Rafe have escaped Venda and the path before them is winding and dangerous - what will happen now? This third and final book in The Remnant Chronicles is not to be missed.

Bestselling author Mary E. Pearson's combination of intrigue, suspense, romance and action make this a riveting page turner for teens.

REVIEW

The Remnant Chronicles is a trilogy I came to like the more and more books were released and I was so pleased with this finale. Indeed, I was truly invested in the whole thing, because I reread the first two books in the series during the summer and enjoyed them even more the second time around, which had made me so excited to read The Beauty of Darkness.

I’m deeply in love with Mary E. Pearson’s writing, which was so poetic and vibrant. Since the first book I’ve been admiring her for The Song of Venda and The Last Testaments of Gaudrel, because it felt like realistic lore, as mysterious and poetic as you would imagine. Pearson transported me to her world easily, which is an amazing gift, because it means I can imagine myself traveling besides the main characters without forcing my mind too much around it.

As this book was 688-pages long, many events occurred and I felt like years had passed for the characters when I closed the book, when it had happened over the course of a few months (well, even if there was a bigger gap between the penultimate and last chapter). I can’t really say much about the plot without spoiling anything, because it’s the third and last book, but I will say that it was intense and I always had to keep reading, because I needed to know what was going to happen to the characters. The author covered a lot of ground, both in her world, but also in the type of plots she used. Some twists were totally unexpected for me and I was shocked at some point, because I hadn’t thought of some possibilities. Moreover, she wrote wonderful action-packed scenes and grasped the atmosphere of a war.

During this trilogy, Lia became such a strong and independent woman and I’m so proud of her, she will definitely remain one of my favourite female characters of all times. Time and time again, she proved that she needed no man to succeed, when it was a man’s world (no, I’m definitely not singing along ;)). She learned to trust her gift and embrace who she needed to become, even if she was ruthless at times, because she was doing what needed to be done. Pauline also went through a lot of character development in this last book, because she realized the truth on some aspects of her life (I don’t want to spoil anyone but it’s hard) and had to become tougher than the sweet girl she used to be (also, can we talk about someone’s name? I loved it <3). In fact, this book was very great at building women’s power, when this world was dominated by men.

However, I feel like it fell a bit short for the two male main characters’ development. While I recognize we saw some of it, I was disappointed a little by Kaden’s chapters, because they were way too short and didn’t help me to understand him. Yes, we learned more about this past, but it was hard to understand his relationships with the other characters, especially Lia and Pauline. Rafe was easier to understand, because his reactions were realistic considering the situation he was in, but I still needed more scenes that involved him.

For the romance, I have to say I figured out early on the path the author had chosen for her characters and was excited to read about it. I was pleased with the outcome, even if I had predicted it, because Pearson wrote it pretty well and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Some scenes were steamy in my opinion and it worked so well, because I was rooting for the characters and wanted more one-to-one time between them. However, I would have liked to see two particular characters falling in love together, because we only saw the result. Nevertheless, the romance was great, even if there was much drama in it.

The ending was pretty much a happily ever after, but for once, I didn’t mind. I loved the places Mary E. Pearson left her characters, because even if she didn’t resolve everything, she left the characters with hope for their future. Moreover, I almost cried with relief and joy when I read the last scene, my little fangirl heart melted, it was so beautiful.

Overall, I’m totally satisfied with this finale and while, like always, I feel bittersweet because it is another series coming to a close, I know I won’t regret it because it ended the right way for the characters (but also like I wanted, haha). The Beauty of Darkness was about Lia finally becoming who she needed to be and I’m glad I saw this transformation during the trilogy. The plot was filled with tension, which made me keep reading, to the point where I read this beast in three days (well, I finished it past midnight so technically it was the fourth day). I read swoon-worthy moments that made me so happy, especially at the end of the novel. I cannot wait to see what Mary E. Pearson will write next, because this trilogy is one of my favourites!

Have you read this trilogy? Do you love it? Have you read the Jenna Fox series by this author?

So much girl power here! | The Darkest Magic

The Darkest Magic (Spirits and Thieves #2) by Morgan Rhodes

Published: June 28th 2016 by Razorbill

Genre: young adult, fantasy

Goodreads summary: In the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Morgan Rhodes's highly acclaimed Falling Kingdoms spin-off series, danger looms and the mystery deepens as two warring evils vie for possession of one elusive, powerful book.

Modern-day Toronto: Sisters Crystal and Becca Hatcher are reunited after reclaiming the Bronze Codex and narrowly escaping death. They have no one to trust but each other, and the only thing keeping them safe is the book that sent Becca's spirit to Ancient Mytica--the same book that their enemies would kill them for. 

Ancient Mytica: Maddox grapples to keep his newly discovered powers under control, while the ruthless goddess Valoria hunts him down. 

Modern-day Toronto: Farrell embraces his dark side as he unwittingly falls further under the spell of Markus, the mastermind leader of the nefarious Hawkspear Society, who will stop at nothing to find Crys and Becca--and the remarkable book in their possession. 

New York Times bestselling author Morgan Rhodes takes readers into exhilarating new high-fantasy territory with volume two of the Book of Spirits and Thieves series, an epic contemporary saga perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander.

REVIEW

I'm a huge fan of the Falling Kingdoms series, so when the Spirits and Thieves trilogy was announced, I was pretty excited, as it's a prequel of the main series. While I really disliked the cover of the first book, they improved a lot with this one, it was pretty badass and I had serious girl power vibes from it.

When I started this book, I didn't remember very well what had happened in the first book, except the key plot points. Nevertheless, Morgan Rhodes did recaps along with the story, which helped me a lot, because I hadn't find any recap of A Book of Spirits and Thieves on the Internet. However, my issue was that it took a lot of time to get through every character's point of view, because they were four of them. At the beginning of the story, I felt like the plot was moving very slowly because of that, but it picked up quickly.

This trilogy is set a thousand years before the Falling Kingdoms series and it set so much in place for the Mytica I've come to know and love. The Darkest Magic indeed gave a bigger place to the two goddesses, Cleiona and Valoria, but also the Watchers, which is part of Mytica's mythology/series in the original series. Moreover, this instalment developed the magic even further, especially for Maddox and his death magic, but also for Becca, because of her parentage. What I love the most about the world Morgan Rhodes created is the fact Mytica is intertwined with modern-day Toronto, which involves secret societies. The author went even farther in that aspect, about how loyal you can be to someone and to a cause, which was really interesting and challenging for Farell's character.

I was really invested in most characters' storylines in this book and I came to appreciate some of them a bit more, just like Farell. I felt so much girl power in this book, for the Hatcher sisters, but also from the secondary characters like their families or the goddesses. Morgan Rhodes is also great at writing romances in my opinion and I'm way more invested in Farell/Crystal than in Maddox/Becca, because there is this hate becoming love relationship trope happening, which reminds me of Cleo and Magnus in Falling Kingdoms, who are my OTP.

The plot was very entertaining to follow and I can't even tell if it was more interesting in Mytica or in Toronto, which was a good thing. It was cruel to leave small cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter though, because how was I even supposed to go to sleep? This novel introduced a new antagonist, who was very scary and I wasn't expecting him to appear really, because I didn't remember any hints from this in the first book. The ending left my mouth hanging open and I just need the next book in the trilogy now.

Overall, this book was everything I wanted, except that it took me awhile to get into it, as the chapters were pretty long and it followed four characters. Nevertheless, I was very invested in all the storylines and I cannot wait to read the last book in the trilogy, because it'll be explosive!

Other:

• Review of A Book of Spirits and Thieves

Have you read this book yet? What did you think of it? Are you a fan of the Falling Kingdoms series? Are you excited for Crystal Storm?

Internship + BookTube-A-Thon | July Wrap-up & August 2016 TBR

July is now coming to a close, which makes me so sad, because it means that we're halfway through the summer and that my internship is over. Time is flying by and I feel like I have no time to really enjoy it. I've been in a blogging slump for the last few weeks, because I was so tired when I came home that I hadn't the will to read/blog/catch up on TV shows… I hope I'll do better in August, even if I'll be working at a local library as a summer job (but with all the books, I should be motivated, right?).

During the whole month, I was still at my internship and it was great! I learnt a lot while I was there and it helped me to really know what I wanted to do in the future. I'll need to study hard for the next few years and it will be a little complicated (but I should talk about it more in September I think, so stay tuned for that), but I'm getting excited about the future, which had always lacked in my life.

While I was at this internship, my boyfriend got me flowers (it was the first time and it was so nice!), then we grabbed some lunch and we'll definitely go back to this restaurant again (the juices are so tasty). My tutor also got me a book, which I wasn't expecting and it made me so happy, because you know, BOOKS! Well, it's in French (translated from German), so I won't be able to talk about it here, but I'll spend my August reading it, which might take a while, as it is 1126 pages long. I'm really interested to read it because for the past few years I've only been reading YA fiction and I would like to diversify my reading life. I also went to Sceaux, where a 17th century castle was destroyed during the French revolution, so the 19th century castle there isn't amazing, but there were still remains of the 17th century domain, so it was great!

With my boyfriend, we've been on multiple adventures during the week-end and it was so much fun! We went to the Musée d'Orsay for the exhibition about Charles Gleyre, a 19th century French painter, which I loved, especially all the paintings that represented the Orient. We explored Montmartre in Paris and it had been such a long time since I had been there, so I was ecstatic, because I love the atmosphere of this place, you definitely don't feel like you're in Paris. Finally, as I had free tickets, we went back to Vaux-le-Vicomte, the 17th century castle I had visited in May (and I might go back soon-ish, but we'll see what the future holds).

 During the third week of the month, I also participated in BookTube-A-Thon, because I was so bad at reading and needed a little motivation. It definitely worked very well, because I managed to finish seven books during that week (there were two short stories there, but still), so I was very happy with that, because it's the only reason I have a decent amount of books I read this month (for me I mean, haha).

My internship ended on Friday and I'll always be grateful for these seven weeks. I'm really sad about it though, because I felt like I kinda belonged there and it makes me optimistic for the future. This week-end, I met up with my best friend and we went to a restaurant, before going to our local bookstore, where I got her the French version of Six of Crows for her birthday! I'm so excited for her to read it!

I'm now trying to get back into the swing of things, I want to read and blog as much as I can, because I think next year at uni will be crazy... So I need to read all the books before that.

The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott 3 stars

How It Feels to Fly by Kathryn Holmes 4 stars

The Darkest Magic (Spirits and Thieves #2) by Morgan Rhodes 4.5 stars

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 4 stars

Taste of Darkness (Healer #3) by Maria V. Snyder 4 stars

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan 4.5 stars

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout 3.5 stars

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by Victoria Schwab 4.5 stars

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany 5 stars

E-NOVELLAS & SHORT STORIES

Phoenix Ouverture (Newsoul #2.5) by Jodi Meadows 4 stars

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell 4 stars

REREADS

 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket #1) by Roald Dahl 4 stars

The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles #2) by Mary E. Pearson 4.5 stars

Flights of Fantasy: 50/50. I've read fivebooks for this challenge this month, the Alchemyst, the Darkest Magic, Taste of Darkness, This Savage Song and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, so I'm done, let's party!

Retelling challenge: 10/20. Oops, it seems like I still haven't read any book for this challenge this month, I need to get back into it, but most retellings I want to read will be released in the Fall, so here is my excuse. *hides*

'16 Debut author challenge: 13/20. Well, it seems like I haven't made progress in this challenge either. But look, reading's been hectic so I've been choosing books I was 90% I would love and fly through. But I'll try for next month, I swear!

The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3) by Mary E. Pearson

The Jeromin Children by Ernst Wiechert (in French)

#ReadThemAllThon TBR:

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

PS I Like You by Kasie West

The Magician by Michael Scott

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

The Flame Never Dies by Rachel Vincent

How is your summer so far? Have you read an amazing book lately? Have you been able to go on vacation?

#ReadThemAllThon TBR

I don't play Pokemon Go yet (I know, I know) because life is crazy right now and I'm already struggling to read and blog, I can't add something else in the mix, sadly. Nevertheless, I'm a fan of Pokemon, especially the first generations, I was part of those kids who were collecting the cards without knowing how to play but still played the video games. 

The #ReadThemAllThon, as well as the graphics in this post (except the trainer card), were created by Aentee @ Read At Midnight and will run from August 14th to September 4th. You can click here for all the explanation and the sign-ups (#lazy). This read-a-thon seems like so much fun and I can't wait for it to begin.

CHOSEN POKEMON

1. Read the first book in a series

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye. This book is one of my most anticipated reads of 2016 but I have yet to read it. I also should hurry up, because there is a lot of hype around it already and the title for the second book has already been announced. I'm so fascinated by Russia, I'm so pumped to get to this one.

2. A book that might make you cry

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner. I barely know anything about this book, except that it's a contemporary and not a fantasy book with snakes, hahaha. I didn't want to read it because I was assuming the wrong things at first. But anyway, I've seen a lot of people reading this (especially on Twitter) and saying it crushed them. I'm scared.

3. Read a book with thunderous hype

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling. I think we can't actually do better than this one, right? I'm planning on getting an ebook version, read it, and then buy a physical copy if I love it, because I'm scared. I want to know what will happen because let's face it, I will be spoiled if I don't read it, but I'm not a fan of all these additions to canon (except the Fantastical Beasts movies <3).

4. Read a book featuring diversity

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour. I read You Know Me Well this month, which Nina LaCour co-authored, and I loved it so much! Because of that, I want to pick up more of her works and I've heard AMAZING things about this one. Except You Know Me Well, I think I've never read a book with a F/F romance, I need to remedy that.

5. Read a book with an epic romance

PS I like you by Kasie West. Kasie West is one of my favourite contemporary authors, she writes cute and fluffy romance novels that I fly through and gives me feels (which isn't that easy, as I'm not exactly a romantic). PS I Like You just came out on July 26th and it's summer, it'll be perfect.

6. Read a book with fantasy or supernatural elements

The Magician by Michael Scott. After years of putting it off, I read the first book in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series last month and while I wasn't impressed, I feel like this series has a lot of potential. I don't want to forget all about The Alchemyst by the time I'm reading the second book, so it'll definitely be happening in August!

7. Read a book with a red cover

Heartless by Marissa Meyer. Well, it doesn't have an actual red cover, but it's the best I can do, so we'll make it work, right? I won this ARC in a giveaway last month (I still can't believe it!!!!) and I'm so excited to finally be reading it. I'm a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland and Marissa Meyer is great at fairy tales retellings, so this book is bound to be amazing. ;)

8. Read a book with post-apocalyptic settings.

The Flame Never Dies by Rachel Vincent. I have literally no post-apocalyptic book on my TBR at the moment, because The Flame Never Dies will only be released on August 16th, during the readathon. That was close, or I wouldn't have been able to choose a book for that challenge. Anyway, I cannot wait to get my hands on this one, because while it was a dystopia, the society was quite unique (it involves religion and demons and burning people and I'm dying here don't you see????).

Are you planning on participating to this read-a-thon? Have you read any of the books I'm planning on reading? Do you play Pokemon Go? 

Monsters are gonna come and eat you all | This Savage Song

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by V.E. Schwab

Published: June 7th 2016 by Titan Books Ltd

Genre: young adult, dystopia, paranormal

Goodreads summary: There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

REVIEW

By now, you must know that Victoria Schwab is one of my favourite authors, and she never disappoints. Sure, I don't read all of her books 5 stars, but it's still so pretty damn close every time.

To be honest, I would love to see what is happening in Victoria Schwab's head, because she always crafts such unique and dark worlds I'm deeply in love with (but living there wouldn't be the best idea, right?). This Savage Song was a post-apocalyptic novel where monsters appeared because of all the violence that we, humans, perpetrated. This idea is so interesting considering what happened in the world in the last few years, but also so disturbing. While the idea of this world was creepy, I was engrossed by it, because I love when there are monsters in a world, as it means so many possibilities. There also was a song about it in the book (like Lila had a song in A Gathering of Shadows <3), which I'm totally digging and you should too.

    “Monsters, monsters, big and small,

    They're gonna come and eat you all.

    Corsai, Corsai, tooth and claw,

    Shadow and bone will eat you raw.

    Malchai, Malchai, sharp and sly,

    Smile and bite and drink you dry.

    Sunai, Sunai, eyes like coal,

    Sing you a song and steal your soul.

    Monsters, monsters, big and small,

    They're gonna come and eat you all!” 

Schwab is so talented when it comes to world-building, because you never feel overwhelmed with all this new information to process. Indeed, she gives you hints on what is going in but doesn't deliver the whole information until her reader actually needs it. This book was about the notion of good and evil and how complex it was, especially in such a terrible world. You couldn't exactly tell who was "right" and who was "wrong", because the situation was unique. Her writing is so vivid and she can writes such amazing sentences, I fall in love with it every time. It feels like her characters are coming off the page, which can be a little frightening at times, because Kate Harker would definitely scare me to death.

The book started on a quote of Vicious, Schwab's first adult novel, and I loved that so much. It made me laugh, because you need some nerve to do that, but she can totally get away with it, as it was one of the best books I've ever read. While the prologue totally hooked me (because OMG, Kate), it took me about 100 pages to really get into the story, because there wasn't much happening. The first third of the book built a lot of the initial situation - so the synopsis is actually spoiling something happening almost halfway through - but the book was so worth it after that. It was so action-packed and fast-paced and I couldn't stop reading, because I was rooting for the characters and was scared for them at the same time. I loved the last twists Schwab used, because I hadn't seen that coming at all, and I'm pretty excited for Our Dark Duet, the sequel, because while it didn't end on a cliff-hanger, I'm intrigued by the direction the book will go.

The characters were so complex and I was so in love with them. On one hand, we had Kate, who was so kickass and willing to prove her father that she was worth it, she was a Harker, but realized, during the book, that the notions between good and evil weren't as simple and maybe her father wasn't the good guy. On the other hand, you had August who also wanted to prove himself, but was so insecure and willing to be human. He was so, so cute. Except when he was dangerous? But even then. Also he was playing the violin and lured his preys thanks to it, how cool is that (except for the preys, oops)? He was becoming so strong near the end of this first book and I can't wait to see who he'll become. So basically, it was about these teenagers trying to figure themselves out in a messed-up world and went through so much character development. Moreover, Ilsa, August's sister, was such a scary but precious cinnamon roll.

You might have seen a lot of reviewers mention that, but there is no romance in this book. None. Kate and August are coming together not even because there are friends, but because their situation is calling for it, and then, of course they become friends, because it's a life or death situation. But that was all. I loved their relationship, because they came to be so loyal to each other, no matter how awful the situation was and thinking about it…  It is praiseworthy.

Overall, this book was amazing, but it took me some time to get into it, because I was waiting more from the plot. But once I went through this, I was completely addicted to This Savage Song and didn't want it to end. It had such complex and relatable characters on top of a unique and scary world. I don't read dystopian novels that much these days, but you forget it's one while you're reading it, because it doesn't really use the tropes of the genre. I would 100% recommend this book to everyone, but be warned that it could take you time in the beginning.

Have you read this book yet? What did you think of it? What's your favourite book by Victoria Schwab (it's close between Vicious and A Gathering of Shadows for me)?

August 2016 Releases | Grabby Hands #8

Grabby Hands is a monthly feature where I talk about all the books I'm excited for that will be released in the next month. When I first started writing this post, I thought it would be a book a week, but apparently nope, I'm still trying to get crushed by my TBR. #bookwormproblems

                                                                         August 2nd                                                                       

The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3) by Mary E. Pearson - I'm so excited for this finale, you have no idea (also, it's 688 pages-long, I'm screaming!). If, at first, this series seemed to be a lot about the love triangle, I was delightly surprised to discover it was so much more complex than that. The world is rich, the characters complex and it's so compelling. Even the prequel novella (Morrighan) added to it, can you imagine? I'm so dedicated I decided to reread the first two books before the release of the last one, that's how dedicate I am. I was already so excited for The Heart of Betrayal last year. I fell in love with Mary Pearson's writing (especially with bits like The Song of Venda), so I'm also looking forward to read her next projects. I'm definitely team Rafe, so I hope I won't be frustrated at the end of the book. 

A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody - I've seen this book everywhere on blogs lately, and it got me intrigued. The premise of this book is quite interesting, because it's about a girl living the same day over and over and over and trying to fix what went wrong during the original day. I've seen movies with this concept so it's not exactly new, but I'm looking forward to read it. It seems like a fun and quick read and well... It should help for these times when our Mondays are indeed that bad (but let's hope they aren't!).

Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia - This book sounds like a regular coming-of-age contemporary novel, but I got attracted to it because it deals with the publishing industry, the main character wanting to write and then publish a book. It's something I like to read about, because I'm so passionate about this world (if I lived in an English-speaking country I would want to work in this industry, but I wasn't born in any of them *sigh*).

                                                                          August 9th                                                                       

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff - I feel like everyone and their moms have been reading their ARC copies of this lately, because it's all I see on Twitter and Goodreads. I don't mind that much, since I'm so excited for this book. The cover is beautifully scary and I want the US cover! Last time I checked, it was so expensive on Book Depository though... *sobs in a corner* The world sounds so creepy ("a city built from the bones of a dead god" <--- I'm in love already) and it involves assassins, so what could go wrong (um, people could die in the book, you idiot)? Jay Kristoff is one of the masterminds behind Illuminae, so I can't say I trust him (because evilness), but I have high hopes it'll be great.

The Chase (The Witch Hunter #1.5) - I'm not a huge fan of novellas, but this one is about Fifer and Schuyler, where is it? I must have it. Like yesterday. Side note: It's the same sword than the original cover of Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman, which I found funny. But honestly, who cares about enovellas' covers?

                                                                         August 15th                                                                      

The Architect of Song (Haunted Hearts Legacy #1) by A.G. Howard - I have to confess I still haven't read the Splintered trilogy by this author, and I'm ashamed, because it's Alice in Wonderland, but I had heard mixed things about it. I'm planning on giving it a go at some point, but in the meantime, I'm excited for the author's next projects, The Architect of Song and RoseBlood. I need this book in my life because a) the cover is beautiful b) it's set in Victorian England c) the main character is deaf d) it's a new adult fantasy and I have faith in the genre thanks to A Court of Mist and Fury (yes, I'm rambling) e) but also a gothic novel involving ghosts. You know you want it (*whispers* because I do).

                                                                         August 16th                                                                      

The Flame Never Dies (The Stars Never Rise #2) by Rachel Vincent - Okay, I barely read dystopian novels anymore, but The Stars Never Rise surprised me in the best ways last year, so I'm really excited for its continuation. What totally sold me on this must have been the demons, I confess. But Rachel Vincent managed to involve them in such a unique way, that took me by surprise and left me begging for more. There are exorcists in the book, okay? The first one didn't end on a cliff-hanger, but I'm still so excited for this one, especially now that I learnt it was a duology, because it's so rare, and I need help with my TBR.

                                                                        August 23rd                                                                       

Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3) by William Ritter - By scrolling on Goodreads I just found out this isn't the last book?!? Oh my, I'm so relieved, because those are great. The first book was pitched as "Doctor Who meets Sherlock Holmes" and it was just right. Of course, it's set in the Victorian era (we're talking about me, after all), but in America. I'm ridiculously excited because Jackaby and Abigail will be investigating Jenny's murder (their ghost landlord) in this book. I'm amazed at how well William Ritter is intertwining folklore and murders, it's so peculiar.

                                                                          August 30rd                                                                     

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi - *see the cover* Okay, take my money. I don't read a lot of middle grade novels, but sometimes I'm surprised and love them (like Keeper of the Lost Cities), it could definitely be the case with this one. I really enjoyed Mafi's first trilogy, Shatter Me, and I was looking forward to see what was next for her. I like that it's about a world where everything is in color but yet this little girl isn't. I'm so curious about this book.

A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) - Remember that time when we weren't sure we would get a sequel for AEITA? Well, the book gods granted us, because A Torch Against the Night is coming. I'm so excited for this book, because AEITA was one of the best debuts I read last year (along with The Wrath and the Dawn obviously), and I want to know what will happen to Elias and Laia next.

Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West - I haven't seen reviews on this one yet, but look, a shiny baby debut, I need that. No, but honestly, this book is inspired by a bunch of fairy tales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty but also stories like Hua Mulan or Emma by Jane Austen. It intrigues me immensely.

Are you excited for any of these books? Which book are you most excited for that will be published in August (mine is The Beauty of Darkness)?