Nevernight by Jay Kristoff (Waiting on Wednesday #20)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that everyone’s eagerly anticipating!

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

Nevernight will be released August 9th, 2016 by Thomas Dunne Books!

This book like so many others has so many of my buzz words. We've got:

• Gorgeous cover ✓ 
• Fantasy ✓ 
• Assassins ✓ 
• Medieval setting ✓ 
• Revenge plot ✓

Plus, all US preorders are going to be signed by Jay Kristoff. I've had this one preordered basically since you could preorder it on Amazon. I'm really looking forward to reading something new from Jay Kristoff that isn't part of the Illuminae Files (and I really need to get to reading the Lotus War).

What are you waiting for this Wednesday?

May 23 Recommended Reads

So I'm back after a long hiatus, but I'm really excited to get back into blogging and writing full reviews and reading what other people have to say about what they are reading. My first year of Grad School is over and I now have the summer to read and devote time to this blog and the community more than I did during the school year. Coming back there are probably going to be more discussion type posts and lists until I get back into the swing of writing reviews and posting them here.

That being said, I'm going to start a new series of posts today. Basically every once and awhile, I want to post a list of my top 7 books in a certain genre, of a certain length, or even that I read at a certain time. Plus I'm also open to suggestions of what you would like me to recommend. For this first post, I'm going to recommend seven of my favorite series (and series not trilogies, that could be a different post).

1. The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
2. The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
3. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini  
4. The Falling Kingdoms Series by Morgan Rhodes
5. The Chronicles of Nick Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon
6. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
7. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

This was harder to do than I was expecting, but at the same time it really made me think about what it is about each of these series that has really stuck with me (even the ones that are not complete yet). There is just something special about a series that lets you completely immerse yourself in the world and the characters. And there is something to be said about the wait, whether it is a patient one or not, for the next installment to see where your "friends" are headed to next.

What are some of your favorite series?

Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

 
Title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Author: Maggie Stievater
Publication Date:  October 21st, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

Summary: 

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

“Humans were so circular; they lived the same slow cycles of joy and misery over and over, never learning. Every lesson in the universe had to be taught billions of times, and it never stuck.

It is no secret that I have a love-hate relationship with this series. I love the writing and the characters, but I've always felt very "meh" about the story and plot. I've just never connected with the story and the direction Maggie Stiefvater takes the story.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue started out the same way as the previous two. I loved reading about these characters I've come to love, but I had no interest in their quest and the story. For me, this series is a character driven story. I'm reading this series to get to know them and "interact with them". I love the sass, the teasing, and the ease of Blue, Gansey, Adam, Noah, and Ronan's eclectic relationships. They are this misshapen conglomerate of people that work so well together. While they may not always see eye-to-eye, we know they rely on each other.

This series takes place over a very short time period and in this installment the summer is ending and school is beginning. I really wish we had gotten more scenes of Blue and the boys at their respective schools. Aglionby has always fascinated me and I really wish we could have seen more.

This book took a really interesting turn about 300 pages in (rough 100 pages remaining). I started to become really attached to their quest and what they were trying to do. It took almost three books, but I'm now fully invested in this series. It is about more than just the characters now. I also want to follow them on this quest to Glendower.

This book had a lot of heartache. There was so much sadness and I'm now even more scared of what is to come in The Raven King. I'm also very glad I already have The Raven King in my possession, because the ending of Blue Lily, Lily Blue is not something you want to sit on, having to wait to see what happens next.

This is a super long review, but basically for me this was the book that made me fall in love with this story completely. I still would not consider this a favorite series, like many others do, but I now understand the unconditional love people have for this series. I get the devotion to both the characters and the story. It just took me a while longer to get the story part.