December 2015 – READER IN A REVERIE

Most Anticipated Book Releases of 2016

Published on December 28, 2015December 28, 2015 by Reader In A Reverie13 Comments

2016 is almost here! And some exciting books are coming with it!

There are so many books I am highly anticipating in the coming year. SO MANY! Too many to put on one blog post. And too many to actually expect myself to read, especially given that there are so many current series and books I want to read too! So I have managed to cut down my list to the top 13 books I’m most excited about (because I couldn’t get it down to only 10!).

Title: Passenger (Passenger #1)
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publication Date: 5th January
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 464
Goodreads Link: Here

All I really know about this book is that there are pirates, and there is time travel. It’s one I’ve been looking forward to for months. I never read Alexandra Bracken’s ‘The Darkest Minds’ trilogy, but this series sounds much more up my street!

Title: Night Study (Soulfinders #2) Author: Maria V. Snyder
Publication Date: 26th January (in US) 25th February (in UK)
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Pages: 400
Goodreads Link: Here

The Study series is one of my all-time favourites. I was so excited when Maria V. Snyder continued the series with 3 more books (titled under the Soulfinder series). Shadow Study came out last year, and while I wasn’t as impressed with that instalment as the rest, Maria is one of my favourite authors, and I have faith she will raise the bar again

Title: Stars Above (A Lunar Chronicles collection)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: 2nd February
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 304
Goodreads Link: Here

A collection of short stories from the Lunar Chronicles. I have really loved this series, although I still have yet to read Winter (the last book). I imagine this will be a great read for when I’m having Lunar Chronicles withdrawals!

Title: Unhooked
Author: Lisa Maxwell
Publication Date: 2nd February
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 352
Goodreads Link: Here

This is, I believe, a YA Peter Pan retelling. I absolutely love re-tellings, and pirates, and Peter Pan, so I really can’t wait for this one!

Title: Black Hearts
Author: Nicole Castroman
Publication Date: 9th February
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 384
Goodreads Link: Here

Another pirate book. I have struggled to find YA pirate books for years, and now they are all coming out in the same year! Not that I’m complaining!

Title: A Gathering of Shadows (A Darker Shade of Magic #2)
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publication Date: 23rd February
Publisher: Titan Books
Pages: 352
Goodreads Link: Here

A Darker Shade of Magic was in my top 3 reads of 2015, so needless to say I CANNOT WAIT for book 2. No really, I actually can’t wait any longer!!

Title: Burning Glass (Burning Glass #1)
Author: Kathryn Purdie
Publication Date: 1st March
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 512
Goodreads Link: Here

Magic + emperors and princes + romance = potential for an amazing series. And it’s already got lots of 5 star reviews on goodreads. Expectations are high for this one!

Title: The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Curse #3)
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Publication Date: 10th March
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s
Pages: 400
Goodreads Link: Here

I read both The Winner’s Curse and the Winner’s Crime this year, and loved them both! They have become a new favourite series. So I am so excited to read the concluding book. I have so much hope for these characters. I cried so much after book 2 – I really need to know what happens!

Title: The Glittering Court (The Glittering Court #1)
Author: Richelle Mead
Publication Date: 5th April
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 416
Goodreads Link: Here

I haven’t read any of Richelle Mead’s other series, but this one sounds really good. A fantasy set in a mixture of Elizabethan and frontier worlds, with romance and adventure. Because I obviously need another fantasy series to start!

Title: A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: 5th May
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s
Pages: 432
Goodreads Link: Here

ACOTAR was my most anticipated book of 2015, and also my favourite book of the year. Book 2 is probably my most anticipated book of 2016 too. I’m not sure whether the abbreviated ACOMAF sounds quite as good as ACOTAR though!

Title: Summer Days and Summer Nights Author: Edited by Stephanie Perkins
Publication Date: 14th June
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 336
Goodreads Link: Here

I loved the Winter/Christmas edition that Stephanie Perkins edited last year (My True Love Gave to Me), and I am so so excited for this Summer version. And it’s got some more fabulous authors – such as Leigh Bardugo and Veronica Roth!

Title: Untitled (Throne of Glass #5)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: 6th September
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Pages: 384
Goodreads Link: Here

I don’t think this one needs any explanation! It doesn’t have a title or cover yet, but book 5 of the Throne of Glass series is certainly on my pre-order list!

Title: Crooked Kingdoms (Six of Crows #2)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publication Date: 22nd September
Publisher: Orion Children’s Books
Pages: 480
Goodreads Link: Here

I still haven’t read Six of Crows (which was one of my most anticipated books of 2015), but I know I am going to love it. I fell in love with Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy, and everything I have heard about this series is that it is even better!

There are so many great books coming out in 2016! There are others I haven’t included, and others that I have probably forgotten!

What books are you most looking forward to next year? Do you have as many on your list as me!?

Reading Year in Review – 2015

Published on December 27, 2015December 27, 2015 by Reader In A Reverie9 Comments

Hello lovely people. I hope you have all had a nice Christmas (or break, if you don’t celebrate)!

It’s almost the end of another year! And it’s that time again to review our favourite books of the year!

I’ve had a pretty busy year in 2015: transitioning from A-levels to degree, moving out and living in a new city. I also started this blog this Summer. Needless to say, I haven’t actually had a lot of time to spend reading (which I talked about in my updates last week). But of the little that I did read, I read a few really good ones, and gained some new all-time favourites!

So, without further ado…

Total No. Books Finished: 33
Total No. Books Not Finished: 4
Highest Reading Months: January (6), April (5), May (5)
Lowest Reading months: October (0), November (0), December (1)
Longest Book Read: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (763 pages)
Shortest Book Read: Equus by Peter Shaffer (112 pages)
Genres Read:
– Fantasy (14)
– Classics (6)
– Re-tellings (4)
– Contemporary (3)
– Sci-fi (2)
– Paranormal (2)
– Historical (1)
– Thriller (1)
– Steam-Punk (1)
(clearly fantasy is still my favourite genre!)

My Favourites…

A Court of Thorns and Roses – Sarah J. Maas

By far, my favourite book of the whole year! It was also the first book I reviewed on this blog (which you can check out here for a full description of my love for this book!). I had waited so long for this book’s release, and it was everything I wanted in a book and more! Book 2 is right up at my most anticipated releases of 2016!

A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab

This was my first V.E. Schwab book, and started a new author love! Schwab has now turned into one of my (very few) auto-buy authors, and I cannot wait for the books she is releasing next year! Especially the sequel to ADSOM!

Just One Day – Gayle Forman

This book was an unexpected love for me. I don’t often read contemporary, as I am much more of a fantasy and sci-fi girl, but if it’s got Paris, I will probably make an exception! The main character was so relatable, and the story was so emotional. Probably now my favourite contemporary novel! I have a review up on this one too (here). The companion (Just One Year) is also on my to-be-read list for 2016.

The Archived – Victoria Schwab

The third Schwab book I read this year! Despite loving her adult books, I wasn’t completely sure if I was going to fall so much in love with her YA. How wrong I was to doubt! The characters are ones that will always stick with me, and the world was so fantastic. The sequel (The Unbound) was just as amazing! I’ve heard rumours of a third book, though I’m not completely sure it’s going to be a thing. It would make me a very VERY happy girl if it is though! You can read my review of The Archived and The Unbound here.

The Winner’s Curse – Marie Rutkoski

I read both The Winner’s Curse and The Winner’s Crime this year, and was completely blown away by this story. I love that it’s a fantasy without magic. I love the real-life parallels. And I LOVE the characters. (I should probably stop using the ‘L’ word now!) And I have never been more glad to own the UK paperback editions of a trilogy (and avoid the cover change!!).

Shades of Earth – Beth Revis

I read this book back in January, but it’s stuck with me as a stand-out of the year. The Across the Universe trilogy is one of few trilogies in which I have given every book 5 stars. This was a brilliant ending to one of my favourite trilogies!

Fairest – Marissa Meyer

I don’t usually read many prequel books, but when Fairest – the story of the Lunar Chronicles’ villain – came out, I had to read it. It was only pretty short, but it packed in so much story, and so many answers! It’s probably one of my favourites of the series. I still have yet to read the final book (Winter) because of how little time I have had, but is another at the top of my 2016 TBR pile. I cannot wait to see how this series ends!

The Hobbit – J.R.R Tolkien

I’m almost embarrassed to say I only read this book for the first time this year! But now I’ve read it, and I can join with the raving that surrounds it. It was such a magical, wonderful book. And it was the first book I read of 2015 – so it was a great start to the reading year. The first book I read in a year always sticks with me (for good or bad), and this one is not exception. I completely fell in love with it, and although I have been having more trouble getting into the Lord of the Rings, I do expect to finish it next year!

So overall, it’s been a pretty quiet reading year. Definitely the lowest amount of books read for the past 4 or 5 years. However, it has also been a very busy, exciting year, so I’m not going to be too hard on myself. Hopefully next year I will have more time for reading, and finally get to some of the recent releases that I still have yet to read!

So how has your reading gone this year? What were some of your favourite reads of 2015? Let me know in the comments!

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge – Book Review

Published on December 23, 2015December 23, 2015 by Reader In A Reverie3 Comments

“Don’t look at the shadows too long or a demon might look back.”

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the Gentle Lord, Ignifex, the evil and feared ruler of the land. Since birth, she has been training to kill him, planning and scheming to break the 900 year old curse he put on her people. But things are not as they seem as she arrives at his Castle. The Gentle Lord’s castle intrigues her, as does it’s owner. As she attempts to find answers to the secrets surrounding her, and discover a way to free her land from the curse, she is drawn to Ignifex and pulled into a decision that will change not only her kingdom, but her heart.

When I see the words, “Beauty and the Beast re-telling” I instantly want to read a book. When I see the words: “YA”, “fantasy” and “standalone” in the same book description, I want to read it even more. Let’s just say, I had a lot of hopeful expectations hanging on this book. It was wrapped up in so much promise… and it delivered!

The main character Nyx, was an interesting, refreshing viewpoint to read from. She wasn’t the character filled with love and kindness in her heart. And she wasn’t the character that could quickly overcome the streak of hatred inside her. She was a character who had been wronged, felt unloved, hated those she was supposed to love, and acknowledged that that was the way she would feel. Despite her training and plotting, she was no assassin and she wasn’t kick-ass brave and self-certain; I always love those kinds of main characters best.

The Gentle Lord, Ignifex, was attractive, mysterious and funny, and felt a bit like many other YA male love interests I’ve read. But you know what… it did not stop me from completely loving him! He has just the right formula of bad-guy and good-guy, and self-confidence and uncertainty that I love in a male love-interest. There’s a reason that formula is used so often: it works! His red cat-eyes, his missing shadow, and his aura of mystery made for such a great character counterpart to Nyx.

But as much as I love a character-driven story, the world was easily my favourite thing about this book. For a 350 page fantasy standalone, Rosamund Hodge really crafted an intricately detailed, and clear-to-imagine world. The Beauty and the Beast fairytale fantasy elements, combined with the mythology, and her own unique twists, made for a world that I felt I had both read before, and yet never before discovered. The world and the way it is unravelled and revealed is brilliant and beautiful, slow and delicate, much like the world itself. Although as far as fairytale re-tellings go, it really only had the faintest of similarities to the original Beauty and the Beast tale, with far more of the mythology and its own story driving it through. It could easily be forgotten as a retelling at all. Which isn’t actually a complaint. I loved that it was its own unique tale.

Overall, it was a beautifully dark, passionate, romantic and mysterious story, with a stunningly emotional ending that made me feel like I was reading a Laini Taylor book (which is high praise from me!). It got me out of a very long reading slump, and I would happily read it again in the future. It is not really heavy or serious, but it’s also not at all light and fluffy. It was just right for an easy, but exciting read, and I would recommend it to anyone needing a lift out of a reading slump, who likes a bit of fairytale and magic, and does not want the commitment of a series.