Monday, July 31, 2017

#ARCAugust



There are so many fantastic books coming out this fall, but I also have so many books on my shelves calling my name. How to balance this? Participate in #ARCAugust, hosted by Read.Sleep.Breathe. I've picked out six ARCs to read for this challenge, since August tends to be a bit busy (what with school starting and all). If I make it through even this list (or more), I'll be pretty proud of myself! Without further ado, the ARCs I hope to read are:




Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore
Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George
Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson


If you're participating in #ARCAugust, what will you be reading? Is there anything not on my list that should be? Let me know!

Opening Lines (29)


Opening Lines is a new feature here on Portrait of a Book that showcases the first lines of recent and/or upcoming releases. If you're looking for your next read, let these first lines help you decide!


ZERO REPEAT FOREVER
By: Gabrielle Prendergast
Published By: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release Date: Aug. 29, 2017
Buy the Book: Amazon


He has no voice, or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind.

Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.

His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting.

Until a human kills her…

Sixteen year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade, annihilating entire cities, taking control of the Earth. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her friends have only a fragment of instruction from the human resistance.

Shelter in place.

Which seems like good advice at first. Stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn’t like feeling helpless but what choice does she have?

Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend.

Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival comes to depend on trusting each other…

"There is a light floating above me. Nothing I recognize."


A MAP FOR WRECKED GIRLS
By: Jessica Taylor
Published By: Dial Books
Release Date: Aug. 15, 2017
Buy the Book: Amazon


We sat at the edge of the ocean—my sister Henri and I—inches apart but not touching at all. We'd been so sure someone would find us by now.

Emma had always orbited Henri, her fierce, magnetic queen bee of an older sister, and the two had always been best friends. Until something happened that wrecked them.

I'd trusted Henri more than I'd trusted myself. Wherever she told me to go, I'd follow.

Then the unthinkable occurs—a watery nightmare off the dazzling coast. The girls wash up on shore, stranded. Their only companion is Alex, a troubled boy agonizing over his own secrets. Trapped in this gorgeous hell, Emma and Alex fall together as Emma and Henri fall catastrophically apart.

For the first time, I was afraid we'd die on this shore.

To find their way home, the sisters must find their way back to each other. But there’s no map for this—or anything. Can they survive the unearthing of the past and the upheaval of the present?

"We sat at the edge of the ocean--my sister, Henri, and I--inches apart but not touching at all."


Do any of these lines and covers grab your attention? What are your favorite opening lines?

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Book Sketch: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi


IGNITE ME
By: Tahereh Mafi
Published By: HarperCollins
Release Date: February 14, 2014
Series: Shatter Me #3
Pages: 421
Genre: Dystopian
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Bought
Buy the Book: Amazon


Goodreads Summary: The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, called “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love.”

With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.

The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu. Tahereh Mafi has created a captivating and original story that combines the best of dystopian and paranormal, and was praised by Publishers Weekly as “a gripping read from an author who’s not afraid to take risks.” Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and satisfying end.



First Thought After Finishing: Tahereh Mafi has such a way with words. And characters. And did I mention words?

From the very first page of this trilogy, I have been hooked on the story. I can still remember all of the hype over the first book, and it was definitely there for a reason. After such a powerful second book, it would have been easy for this third book to fall flat, but it doesn’t. Instead, Tahereh Mafi surpasses herself and delivers an epic conclusion.

“I had been shackled, a prisoner in my own mind. But finally, finally, I have learned to break free…I am no longer afraid of fear, and I will not let it rule me. Fear will learn to fear me.”


Ignite Me starts just after the terrifying events of Unravel Me. Juliette may have been disoriented and believed her group to be defeated, but with the help of Warner, she soon discovers just how much work is left to be done and just how far she will have to push herself. With the help of a few favorite people, Juliette grows (by leaps and bounds) to become the heroine she never imagined she could be.

“And we are quotation marks, inverted and upside down, clinging to one another at the end of this life sentence. Trapped by lives we did not choose.”


Holy action and character development, Batman! This book has no shortage of either. Juliette, Warner, and Adam are put to test after test in this book—emotionally moreso than physically. I admired the way Juliette came to embrace her true nature and assert herself in the role she deserved. And Warner…are there even enough words to describe Warner? “Book boyfriend” and “More, please!” come to mind. I loved him in the last book (Chapter 62, anyone?) and I love him even more here. That probably makes it no surprise that I am not a huge fan of Adam. Honestly, I wanted to reach into the pages and smack sense into him. His petulance and reticence to recognize something bigger than himself annoyed me.

Fortunately, everyone else in the book made up for Adam’s defects. Kenji was as amusing as ever. He’s still the kind of guy BFF that every girl wants to have, and I would have loved to see him on the page more. And amidst all of the action—there are major battle preparations underway here—sparks are definitely flying. It’s no surprise why this book is called Ignite Me—the chemistry sizzles off the page and fuels the book.

“It’s the kind of kiss that inspires stars to climb into the sky and light up the world. The kind that takes forever and no time at all. His hands are holding my cheeks, and he pulls back just to look me in the eye and his chest is heaving as he says, ‘I think,’ he says, ‘my heart is going to explode,’ and I wish, more than ever, that I knew how to capture moments like these and revisit them forever. Because this. This is everything.”


Throughout this trilogy, the development of plot and characters, the tension and urgency, and the need to read “just one more page” (even in the wee hours of the morning…the night before a meeting…) never abate. It’s a testament to the characters and the author when love for a story can stay strong across years and even after the story’s conclusion, and that is exactly what happened here. Tahereh will also have more books in this world coming in the future, and I absolutely can’t wait to read more from her!

Most Memorable Aspect: Mafi’s writing style. She shows us the thoughts and emotions of her main character with a grace and brilliance few other writers achieve. Oh, and Warner. (Duh!)




Wednesday, July 26, 2017

"Waiting on" Wednesday


"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



This week's selection is:


THE SECRET HISTORY OF US
By: Jessi Kirby
Published By: HarperTeen
Release Date: August 1, 2017
Preorder the Book: Amazon


Goodreads Summary: Gorgeously written and emotionally charged, The Secret History of Us explores the difficult journey of a teenage girl who must piece her life together after losing her memory in a near-fatal accident.

When Olivia awakes in a hospital bed following a car accident that almost took her life, she can’t remember the details about how she got there. She figures the fog is just a symptom of being in a week-long coma, but as time goes on, she realizes she’s lost more than just the last several days of her life—she’s lost her memory of the last four years. Gone is any recollection of starting or graduating high school; the prom; or her steady boyfriend Matt. Trying to figure out who she is feels impossible when everyone keeps telling her who she was.

As Liv tries to block out what her family and friends say about who she used to be, the one person she hasn’t heard enough from is Walker, the guy who saved her the night her car was knocked off that bridge into the bay below. Walker is the hardened boy who’s been keeping his distance—and the only person Olivia inexplicably feels herself with. With her feelings growing for Walker, tensions rising with Matt, and secrets she can’t help but feel are being kept from her, Olivia must find her place in a life she doesn’t remember living.




Why it's Wanted:

It's Jessi Kirby! She's one of the authors on my autobuy list. Admittedly, there are several YA books that deal with comas and memory loss, but the way Jessi Kirby writes is enough to make me want to read this!

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Teaser Tuesday (111)



I'm very excited to be one of the many blogs participating in Teaser Tuesdays! TT is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To participate:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!




"But there was a roar that half deafened me, and my sisters screamed as snow burst into the room and an enormous, growling shape appeared in the doorway."


Taken from pg. 32 of A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES
by Sarah J. Maas

Please share your teasers - post them or link to your blog!

Monday, July 24, 2017

Opening Lines (28)


Opening Lines is a new feature here on Portrait of a Book that showcases the first lines of recent and/or upcoming releases. If you're looking for your next read, let these first lines help you decide!


SPELLBOOK OF THE LOST AND FOUND
By: Moira Fowley-Doyle
Published By: Kathy Dawson Books
Release Date: Aug. 8, 2017
Buy the Book: Amazon


IThe highly anticipated new book from the acclaimed author of The Accident Season is a gorgeous, twisty story about things gone missing, things returned from the past, and a group of teenagers, connected in ways they could never have imagined.

One stormy Irish summer night, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hairclips and jewelry, but soon it's clear that Rose has lost something much bigger, something she won't talk about, and Olive thinks her best friend is slipping away.

Then seductive diary pages written by a girl named Laurel begin to appear all over town. And Olive meets three mysterious strangers: Ivy, Hazel, and her twin brother, Rowan, secretly squatting in an abandoned housing estate. The trio are wild and alluring, but they seem lost too—and like Rose, they're holding tight to painful secrets.

When they discover the spellbook, it changes everything. Damp, tattered and ancient, it's full of hand-inked charms to conjure back things that have been lost. And it just might be their chance to find what they each need to set everything back to rights.

Unless it's leading them toward things that were never meant to be found...

"That night, everybody lost something.

Not everybody noticed."


Do any of these lines and covers grab your attention? What are your favorite opening lines?

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Book Sketch: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo


RUIN AND RISING
By: Leigh Bardugo
Published By: Henry Holt and Company
Release Date: June 17, 2014
Series: The Grisha Trilogy #3
Pages: 422
Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Bought
Buy the Book: Amazon


Goodreads Summary: The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.



First Thought After Finishing: Dear Leigh Bardugo, I love you, but I hate you. But I love you.

Final books in trilogies are always bittersweet. I always want to know how everything ends, but it’s hard to say goodbye to characters that we’ve known and loved for so long. I wasn’t sure what to expect in this book—which was par for the course with this trilogy—but it was full of adventure and surprises.

Alina is once again recovering from a battle with the Darkling, and the Apparat wants her to finally embrace her identity as the Sun Saint. Only Alina has a different destiny in mind—hunt the third amplifier and stop the Darkling once and for all. In the midst of realizing her destiny, she barely has time for love, but that does not mean that her choices aren’t there. In this final installment, Alina has tough decisions to make, and every second counts in trying to restore light to the world.

"Beauty was your armor. Fragile stuff, all show. But what's inside you? That's steel. IT's brave and unbreakable. And it doesn't need fixing."

If I haven’t said it before, I will say it now: Leigh Bardugo is brilliant. From the world to the characters, she has crafted a masterful story that will stick with you long after the final pages. It’s not easy to write characters you hate to love and love to hate, but she does. Alina went through some major changes in Siege and Storm, but here, we get to see some of her friends come into their own and start to shine. I loved getting to see all of them again, and it made me happy to know that their stories had resolutions as well. Bardugo also has tricks up her sleeve that keep changing the game with every chapter. Although there are some slower moments, the overall story is so gripping that it makes the 400+ page book fly by. I stayed up most of the night to finish it!

And about that ending. I won’t spoil it in case you haven’t read it, but I’ll just say that even two weeks later, I’m still trying to decide how I feel about it. You may not love it (there’s always that risk, right?) but I have to admit that it’s fitting for the characters. Regardless of which characters you ship, you are bound to have an emotional experience while reading this book—and you will have the full range of emotions throughout the story. I know I did!

Most Memorable Aspect: Yes. The characters, the story, the feelings—this is an epic fantasy trilogy that you won’t forget.




Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Teaser Tuesday (110)



I'm very excited to be one of the many blogs participating in Teaser Tuesdays! TT is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To participate:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!




"Blue light flashed in the corner of his eye; magic shivered down the side of his body. The Threadstone was now active."


Taken from pg. 133 of TRUTHWITCH
by Susan Dennard

Please share your teasers - post them or link to your blog!

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

"Waiting on" Wednesday


"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



This week's selection is:


THE LIBRARY OF FATES
By: Aditi Khorana
Published By: Razorbill
Release Date: July 18, 2017
Preorder the Book: Amazon


Goodreads Summary: A romantic coming-of-age fantasy tale steeped in Indian folklore, perfect for fans of The Star-Touched Queen and The Wrath and the Dawn

No one is entirely certain what brings the Emperor Sikander to Shalingar. Until now, the idyllic kingdom has been immune to his many violent conquests. To keep the visit friendly, Princess Amrita has offered herself as his bride, sacrificing everything—family, her childhood love, and her freedom—to save her people. But her offer isn't enough.

The unthinkable happens, and Amrita finds herself a fugitive, utterly alone but for an oracle named Thala, who was kept by Sikander as a slave and managed to escape amid the chaos of a palace under siege. With nothing and no one else to turn to, Amrita and Thala are forced to rely on each other. But while Amrita feels responsible for her kingdom and sets out to warn her people, the newly free Thala has no such ties. She encourages Amrita to go on a quest to find the fabled Library of All Things, where it is possible for each of them to reverse their fates. To go back to before Sikander took everything from them.

Stripped of all that she loves, caught between her rosy past and an unknown future, will Amrita be able to restore what was lost, or does another life—and another love—await?




Why it's Wanted:

First of all, how gorgeous is this cover? Add to that a fantasy story with Indian folklore, and it sounds like it has the potential to be a beautiful story. And there's a library too!

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Teaser Tuesday (109)



I'm very excited to be one of the many blogs participating in Teaser Tuesdays! TT is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat. To participate:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!




"My heart stops. Starts.
Stops again.

Warner is here."


Taken from pg. 124 of IGNITE ME
by Tahereh Mafi

Please share your teasers - post them or link to your blog!

Monday, July 3, 2017

Opening Lines (27)


Opening Lines is a new feature here on Portrait of a Book that showcases the first lines of recent and/or upcoming releases. If you're looking for your next read, let these first lines help you decide!


FRAGILE LIKE US
By: Sara Barnard
Published By: Simon Pulse
Release Date: July 18, 2017
Buy the Book: Amazon


In the tradition of Sarah Dessen and Morgan Matson comes a pitch perfect novel about friendship and what it takes to break the bonds between friends.

Caddy and Rosie have always been inseparable. But that was before Suzanne. Now the twosome has become a triangle with constantly shifting alliances.

Caddy’s ready to be more than just the quiet one. She wants something to happen. Suzanne is trying to escape her past and be someone different, someone free. But sometimes downward spirals have a momentum of their own. And no one can break your heart like a best friend.

"I thought it was the start to a love story. Finally."


Do any of these lines and covers grab your attention? What are your favorite opening lines?
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...