Top Ten Tuesday: 2018 Releases I’m Looking Forward To!

Top Ten Tuesday(9)

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish.

Of course there are already TONS of 2018 releases to look forward too but these are the most exciting to me! These are books coming out all throughout 2018 and not limited to a month or half of the year, I do posts every month of the upcoming releases so you can always check those out as well.

These are in no particular order!

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10.) The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde

After reading “Queens of Geek” and absolutely freaking loving it, I’m now fully prepared to read everything Jen Wilde writes. This is about a teen drummer who must navigate family problems the paparazzi, and coming out as bisexual. It sounds amazing!


9.) Unearthed by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

This is so close to being released now and I am SO excited because it’s described as being Indiana Jones in SPACE!


8.) Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda

I did enjoy Alameda’s other book “Shutter” and I can never get enough of YA horror! Plus it’s inspired by the Alien franchise which are some of my favorite movies.


7.) The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

So far Tucholke’s books haven’t really agreed with me but I am so ridiculously excited for a feminist Beowulf retelling that I will still chance it!


6.) The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

Three sisters battle each other for the crown, I mean what could sound more awesome in a fantasy? I love fantasy filled with politics, too.


5.) Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

I’m so freaking excited for this, honestly. It’s a diverse fantasy (which we need more of, seriously) about a land thats magic has disappeared and the magic wielders hunted down. Zelie must now try and bring the magic back with the help of a rogue princess. Also hints of a forbidden romance, which I’m here for.


4.) Toil & Trouble: 16 Tales of Women and Witchcraft by Various Authors

I AM HERE FOR THE WITCHY ANTHOLOGY!!!!


3.) Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie

A sci-fi with two badass heroines who become cyborg soldiers, essentially. I feel like this is going to be as badass as it sounds, I hope so anyways.


2.) Pacifica by Kristen Simmons

To be fair the real reason I’m even adding this is because it’s a fantasy with pirates. I need ALL the pirate books in my life.


1.) Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

A Viking-age inspired fantasy book and just like with the pirates I am all for Viking books!

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Are you excited for any of these books as well?

What are some 2018 releases you’re looking forward to?

Let me know in the comments!

The Sassy

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Hope Santa Brings

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish.

Just some books I’m hoping to get for Christmas this year! These are in no particular order!

 

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10.) Shadow Run by AdriAnne Strickland

YA Sci-Fi being compared to Firefly is all I want in life. I also feel like I’ve been waiting forever to read this….


9.) Even The Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett

I just love the sound of this book so much with a girl who dreams of becoming an explorer for the Emperor and it also has a very Himalayan region feel to it.


8.) Wild Beauty by Anne-Marie McLemore

Because it’s diverse, has a beautiful cover, and I just have a good feeling that McLemore’s writing is gorgeous as well.


7.) Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

I am just in love with this synopsis, it’s got a circus and it’s fantasy I’m sold. I would looove to have my own copy of this book waiting for me under the tree….


6.) The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

The cover is also gorgeous and come on, dragons.


5.) The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

This is actually a Christmas themed book I WANT to read, it’s a sort of retelling of “A Christmas Carol”.


4.) Now I Rise by Kiersten White

I NEED IT! Especially after everyone has been saying how much better it is than the first one.


3.) Golden Son by Pierce Brown

I need it in order to finish the trilogy. I am ready to be emotionally wrecked again.


2.) Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

I NEED IT! After all of the shit that went down at the end of “Nevernight” I need to know what happens next!


1.) 10th Anniversary Edition: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

I’ve had this book on my TBR, FOREVER! Now that this gorgeous hard cover exists though…I want it….I need it!

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Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

What are some books you hope Santa leaves under the tree?

Let me know in the comments!

The Sassy

Top Ten Tuesday: Great Reads That I’m Thankful For!

Top Ten Tuesday(9)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish.

Since U.S. Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday this week’s theme is books/bookish things we are thankful for! There are plenty of books out there that I’m thankful for but these are a few that just really stick out for me!

I will link reviews for each title if I have one and these are in no particular order!

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10.) Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

This was the first book I read by Jay Kristoff and I am thankful for it because I found him and he’s now one of my favorite authors! He’ writes very beautifully but also NEVER fails to throw in a ridiculous amount of shocking twists and turns, and he also knows how to write a badass female protagonist! “Stormdancer” has great world building, a badass heroine, a talking animal companion, and an intense/action packed plot. What more can I ask for?

You can read my full review for “Stormdancer” here.


9.) The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

I’m thankful for “The Diabolic” because it’s a book that really got me interested in reading more YA sci-fi, which I was always interested in but now it’s a favorite genre of mine! This book also had tons of action, another badass heroine, political intrigue, and a romance I could actually ship!

You can read my full review for “The Diabolic” here.


8.) Vicious by V.E. Schwab

This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I highly doubt there’s anything even close to it out there in the book world either. It’s got morally gray characters with super human powers along with an “edge of your seat” plot line, I need the sequel desperately. Schwab’s writing is absolutely fantastic and I will pretty much read anything and everything she writes. I’m thankful for her because she puts out so much unique and creative content!

You can read my full review of “Vicious” here.


7.) Night Film by Marisha Pessl

It’s a perfect blend of horror and mystery and thriller, seriously this book was like winning the jackpot for me. There was plenty of suspense and I just adored it to bits and pieces, I am really hoping Pessl will release something just as good soon!


6.) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I don’t think I need to explain why I’m thankful for this gem, this is such a powerful and beautifully written book and I think it deserves to be read by everyone.

You can read my full review of “The Hate U Give” here.


5.) Red Rising by Pierce Brown

I’m thankful I finally read this amazing book! It’s such an awesome blend of some of my favorite genres such as fantasy and sci-fi, but it’s also full of great characters (that I became overly attached to) and shocking plot twists. THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!

You can read my full review of “Red Rising” here.


4.) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

This is a brutal book full of some great world building and even greater characters, there are some magical elements as well. This BOOK kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and it’s just great, I need to read the sequel!

You can read my full review of “An Ember in the Ashes” here.


3.) Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

I honestly don’t know how to describe how great this book but it’s about children who came back from other worlds (similar to the Chronicles of Narnia) via different doorways and learn to cope at a home with other children. After reading books such as the Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter as a child I found this book extremely relatable and very magical as well.

You can read my full review of “Every Heart A Doorway” here.


2.) The Wicked + The Divine Series by Kieron Gillen

One of my absolute favorite graphic novels series I am SO thankful I found! The plot is intriguing, the characters are all amazing, and the art is stunning!

You can read my full review for Volume 1 here.


1.) Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

I’m very thankful for this beautiful book right here not only because it’s incredibly diverse and has a TON of pop culture/geeky references but because the anxiety rep was so spot on. I thought it was so great to see a main character with anxiety being represented so well, since it’s something I suffer from as well and it was just very relatable.

You can read my full review of “Queens of Geek” here.

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What are some books you’re thankful for?

Have you read any of these, what did you think?

Let me know in the comments!

The Sassy

Top Ten Tuesday: Books With Diverse Main Characters

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish.

So this week’s theme is basically anything to do with characters! You can put any spin on it that you’d like and I decided to do diverse characters since we could always use more diverse book recommendations, am I right? The characters I’m including are diverse in ethnicity and sexuality and there’s also some mental illness rep here as well.

I’m slowly working my way through the diverse books on my TBR but putting this list together has made me realize I really need to read more of them faster!

These are in no particular order and I will link each book title to my full review in case you’re interested!


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Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

This book has a Latino main character who also happens to be a bruja (witch) and when she seeks to rid herself of her power she ends of losing her family and to find them again she must enter a magical realm to save them. This is a very creative and magical book, highly recommended for Halloween coming up too!


Want by Cindy Pon

While I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book I did still enjoy it and it’s diverse cast of characters (mostly Taiwanese) and Pon’s tackling of many big issues such as global warming, pollution, and poverty within the plot line. Still a very interesting book even though the pacing was a little off for me.


Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

While this isn’t the most diverse book on this list it still includes a really adorable F/F romance between the main character and another side character, I don’t want to give it away. This is a Snow White retelling that really delves into new representations of “Snow White and the Evil Queen” in a very unique way.


Timekeeper by Tara Sim

This is a very underrated book that’s set in a steampunk Victorian London with a gay main character who falls in love with a clock tower’s spirit. It’s so incredibly adorable and heart warming! Plus it’s something I’ve never seen done before!


The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters

Cat Winters is an incredible writer and her books should be in the lime light a lot more than they are! This book deals with a biracial girl in the 1920’s dealing with racism and hate crimes who is starting to suspect her father’s death wasn’t an accident. There is also the inclusion of a gay character dealing homophobia and hate crimes as well. This is said to be a sort of retelling of “Hamlet” and there is a bit of the paranormal in the plot as well.


Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Probably the most diverse book included on this list! We have bisexual characters, gay characters, characters of different ethnic backgrounds, characters with mental illness or other disabilities. Everything is also handled and represented incredibly well due to it being an #OwnVoices book and I personally can speak for the anxiety rep as well. There is so much adorableness and so many heart warming moments as well, overall fantastic book full of diversity!


A Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

A story with a M/M romance and the characters both think the other doesn’t love them back, but it’s also full of some crazy shenanigans and a trip across Europe. You’ll ship these two so hard, trust me!


Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

This was a huge surprise to me, I found it way more enjoyable than I had originally anticipated! This is what I wanted “Throne of Glass” to be, full of violence and a main character who isn’t afraid to show their skill and do anything it takes to win. The main character is also gender fluid!


The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Pretty sure everyone’s heard of this one by now! This is a fantastic story with a very powerful plot which includes an African American girl as our wonderful main character who is dealing with the aftermath of a police officer shooting her unarmed friend. As I said it’s incredibly powerful and so well written, I highly recommend reading it.


The Hollow Girl by Hillary Monahan

The main character of this book is Welsh Romani (which we definitely do not get to see very often in books at all) and is studying herbcraft (and hopefully witchcraft) under her Gran. However, her and her friend are brutally assaulted and in order to save his life she must harvest body parts from the boys who did it. I recommend checking out my trigger warnings in my review before reading this one.

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Have you read any of these books as well? What did you think?

Do you have any of these on your TBR?

What are some of your favorite books with diverse characters?

Let me know in the comments!

The Sassy

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Loved The Year I Started My Blog

Top Ten Tuesday(9)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Another week, another Top Ten Tuesday! This week’s theme is a throwback freebie so it can be anything you’d like to discuss about older books such as: books published 10 years ago, older books you forgot you loved, or books from the year you started blogging (which I’m doing!).

There are so many books I read a while ago that I don’t talk about enough and some of them I do talk about plenty. This is going to be a list of my favorite reads from 2015 back when I started this blog!

These are in no particular order and I do have reviews up for each of these books but I’m not going to link them since they’re older and slightly embarrassing! Still though they are available if you want to hear my full thoughts on some of them.


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10.) A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

This was one of the first books I read when I started my blog because there was a ton of hype and glowing reviews for it! Of course I’m super happy I gave Schwab a try because she’s one of my favorite authors now.


9.) Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

I had read “Gone Girl” as well as “Dark Places” before I gave this one a go because I really enjoy the way Flynn tells her stories, they’re also super twisted. This one is probably one of my favorites of hers now as well because of that twist at the end!


8.) Slasher Girls & Monster Boys stories selected by April Genevieve Tucholke

This was a new release when I started my blog and I had heard a few good things about it and I’m ALWAYS looking for some great, creepy YA horror books. This is an anthology and pretty much all of the stories were fantastic plus some of them definitely did not fail to give me nightmares!


7.) Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

I actually mention this book quite frequently but when I first started blogging I was digging around for some great books to read that I hadn’t heard of before. “Lips Touch” was one of the ones I found and it definitely is very underrated. It’s three short stories told by Laini Taylor and her writing here is just as beautiful as it is in her other book “Daughter of Smoke and Bone”. Highly recommend checking out if you’re a fan of hers!


6.) The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco

I bought this book when I got “Slasher Girls & Monster Boys” as well because I had heard mixed things about it and was looking for more scary reads. I’m really terrified of Japanese horror stories every since getting nightmares in the fourth grade from the movie “The Grudge” so I was easily scared reading this book, which was fun!


5.) The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

I hadn’t actually heard much about this book but I saw it in my local bookstore and the cover was so intriguing and creepy that I HAD to buy it. It’s also told in a really unique format consisting of transcripts of video footage, journal entries, and even drawings. It’s an interesting and pretty suspenseful psychological thriller.


4.) The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This book….broke my heart! It came highly recommended when I was searching Goodreads for new books to read since I started my book blog and while it was fantastic and very well written….it was also completely emotionally devastating!


3.) Alice by Christina Henry

Okay, okay I KNOW I mention this book all the time but that’s only because it’s so fantastic! I think it’s pretty good for me to still be recommending a book two years after reading it! This is a very twisted, gritty retelling of Alice in Wonderland and is very much worth reading through in my opinion.


2.) Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

This book was actually recommended to me by one of my blogging besties Arianna @ The Quirky Book Nerd and I of course always take her recommendations to heart! This was such a hilarious graphic novel and I enjoyed every minute of it, it’s a great book to brighten up your day!


1.) Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Probably my most highly recommended book I’ve read and I was pretty proud reading two of Schwab’s books in half a year too when I started all of this! It’s got morally ambiguous characters with freaking superpowers….so yeah I was definitely impressed. I’m also DYING to read the sequel!!!!


A Few Honorable Mentions:

  • You by Caroline Kepnes
  • The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
  • The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters
  • Uprooted by Naomi Novik
  • The Martian by Andy Weir
  • Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

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Have you read any of these books as well? What did you think?

What are some of your favorite books from the year you started blogging?

How about some older favorites in general?

Let me know in the comments!

The Sassy

Top Ten Tuesday: Required Reading For SFF Lovers

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Hello fellow book lovers!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jamie @ The Broke and the Bookish.

Time for another Top Ten Tuesday and this week’s theme is “Back To School” which can be anything from books you read in school or books you think should be required reading etc. So I decided to go with books I feel are required reading for any Sci-fi and Fantasy lovers out there!

I do have full reviews for each of these titles (which I am not going to link this time around) if you’d like to check them out!

These are also in no particular order and there are equal amounts of sci-fi and fantasy books here!

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10.) A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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This book is simply amazing and definitely something you should check out if you’re a fantasy lover! Schwab weaves together some incredible world building and an action-packed plot focusing on a main character who has the magical ability to travel between the 4 parallel versions of London.


9.) The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

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This is technically sci-fi but while reading you don’t get very many vibes of this except for the alien type creatures and some plot information you receive later on. It’s sci-fi though trust me! This is about a boy living in a town of men who can all hear everyone’s thoughts and when he learns a secret about said town he must flee for his life.

Very heartbreaking story but so, so good.


8.) Vicious by V. E. Schwab

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Yes, another Schwab book! Basically if you’re a lover of SFF then just check her out period! This book is probably my favorite of hers and it involves morally ambiguous characters and super powers, what more could you ask for? It’s definitely a page turner!


7.) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

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This is one of those books that may not be for everyone but with the super unique formatting and the literal non-stop action I can’t help but recommend it for all sci-fi lovers. It has everything from a self-aware AI to creepy space viruses! There really is never a dull moment.


6.) Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

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 I honestly recommend this book ALL the damn time but here I am again with it! This book has such creative world building and the characters were amazing too, tons of plot twists, and plenty of action as well. All around amazing fantasy book with all of the fantasy elements I personally look for. Who doesn’t love talking animal companions?


5.) Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West

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Another fantasy book I recommend all the time which is also very underrated, it has some very unique world building along with four different retellings weaved into the plot as well (Hua Mulan, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Jane Austen’s Emma). It’s got some very heart warming and heart breaking moments for sure, overall amazing story though!


4.) The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

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This is sci-fi but the political intrigue and plots are very reminiscent of fantasy as well, the pacing is insanely fast and there’s non stop plot twists and action! You’ll also love the complete badass main character, Nemesis, who pretty much just kicks ass the entire book. She’s one tough cookie!


3.) Red Rising by Pierce Brown

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If I were going to sum up why this should be required reading it’d just be me screaming because of how awesome this book is.

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There are so many wonderful characters and it’s like a much more brutal and violent version of the Hunger Games except in space….well Mars but you get what I mean.


2.) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

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The world building is very Ancient Roman inspired, there’s loads of action,  fantastic characters, and plenty of shock worthy plot twists. This has all of the wonderful fantasy elements most of us look for and is extremely entertaining!


1.) Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

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Very short, sweet, and to the point this book is magical and actually has some great world building for how short the story is. It’s about a home for “chosen one” children who have been kicked out of their magical worlds and must learn how to cope back in reality.

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Have you read any of these books as well? What did you think?

Do you think these should be required reading for SFF fans?

What are some books you’d consider required reading for SFF lovers?

Let me know in the comments!

The Sassy

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Recs for People Who Love Fast-Pacing

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jamie @ The Broke and the Bookish.

I have missed doing Top Ten Tuesday memes! Finally they’re back though and today’s theme is “Book Recommendations For:______” so basically fill in the blank any way we want! I wanted to be a little more creative with these recommendations because I’ve done quite a few before and came up with “Fast Pacing” because who doesn’t love a book that just keeps going and going at fast speed? So here are a few books I could not put down whatsoever!

I will also link up my full reviews for each book if you’d like to know a little more about them! These are also in no particular order.

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10.) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

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This is a YA fantasy thats world building is ancient Rome inspired and right from the get go this book is super intense, action-packed, and of course fast paced. The story grows more and more complex as it goes on and it’s just one twist after the other, it will definitely have you on the edge of your seat!

You can read my full review of “An Ember in the Ashes” here.


9.) Red Rising by Pierce Brown

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If I had to pitch to you why you should read “Red Rising” I would simply describe it as “The Hunger Games on steroids” because essentially that’s what it is. It’s a sci-fi/dystopian where a color coded caste system is in place and a low Color must infiltrate an academy for a rebel cause and also to exact his own revenge. So much action and so many twists!

You can read my full review of “Red Rising” here.


8.) A Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

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This is about a young man’s Grand Tour of the Continent in the early 1700’s and ends up getting his friend, who he is in love with, and his sister in to a great deal of trouble. This is full of one problem after the other for the characters and his hilarious and fast paced all at once! I think what really makes this so quick and easy to read is Mackenzi Lee’s fantastic writing.

You can read my full review of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue” here.


7.) The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid

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Nemesis is a Diabolic, an engineered body guard, who ends up disguising herself as her charge in order to protect her at the galactic court. While the first few chapters of this story aren’t very exciting it sets the stage for a very action packed, twisty plot!

You can read my full review of “The Diabolic” here.


6.) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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If I was going to pick one of the fastest paced books I’ve ever read it’d probably be “Illuminae”! Not only is this book very uniquely formatted with many drawings, diagrams, fonts, and layouts it’s also 600 pages and just gets your adrenaline pumping! It’s kind of hard to understand how a 600 page book would be fast paced but if you read it you will understand! There’s nothing but constant action and plot twists! And it’s all in space!

You can read my full review of “Illuminae” here.


5.) Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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This is also a pretty hefty sized YA fantasy book that took no time at all to fly through! It’s about a group of characters pulling off a heist so you can imagine how thrilling and full of action it is with many plot twists along the way. Worth all of the hype, I promise you!

You can read my full review of “Six of Crows” here.


4.) Vicious by V.E. Schwab

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This is about two men who gained super human powers by having near death experiences and are both bent on ending the other person. This is such a unique book full of wonderfully twisted characters, it’s highly addictive and each chapter ends with its own mini cliffhanger! The suspense and need to know what happens next will definitely have you flying through this book.

You can read my full review of “Vicious” here.


3.) A Drop of Night by Stefan Bachmann

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This is a horror and thriller mixed together about a girl who was chosen along with others to excavate a large underground palace in France, however, nothing really goes according to plan and there’s something evil lurking in the depths. Super fast-paced with many twists and turns there is very little time wasted at the beginning of the book and we are almost immediately dropped into the good stuff right away!

You can read my full review of “A Drop of Night” here.


2.) The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater

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Another super hyped series here all about a girl who is destined to kill her true love with a kiss and a boy’s search for an ancient, magical Welsh King. Sorry but that’s just how I sum up the story here, there’s so much more to it I know! However, I thought that the thirst for answers to things happening in the story made this book fly by and feel super fast-paced!

You can read my full review of “The Raven Boys” here.


1.) The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

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A super fast paced mystery/thriller about a girl and her friend who wrongly accused someone for murder and now must catch the real killer before it’s too late. This story is completely unpredictable with so many jaw-dropping revelations, you won’t see the ending coming!

You can read my full review for “The Darkest Corners” here.

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Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

What are some of your favorite fast paced books?

What books did you recommend for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday?

Let me know in the comments!

The Sassy

Top 5 Wednesday: Series That Got Better!

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Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Thoughts on Tomes and created by Lainey @ Ginger Reads Lainey. You can check out the group’s Goodreads page for this month’s topics!

I’m not much of a series reader I’m usually the kind of person that can start a ton of series and then not actually ever finish them. So this list was a little harder for me especially since I feel a lot of series really get worse the farther they go on for me, however, here are a few I felt got better!

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5.) Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld

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I read this series such a long time ago but when I read the first book I honestly didn’t think much of it, it was okay. However, I decided to continue on and read “Pretties” and “Specials” as well and in my opinion both of those books were a lot better than “Uglies”. I never did read “Extras” but I don’t really feel like I need to either since it isn’t from Tally’s POV.

Would I still think this if I re-read these books now? Maybe but from what I remember when I was younger I thought the books got way better as they went!


4.) Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

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Once again this was a series that I read when I was younger and thought it was amazing! Of course my opinion might change if I read them again now but I like to live in my nostalgia…..

The first couple of books in this series are kind of so, so there really isn’t anything too crazy special about them but as they go they get a lot more action, plot twists, and more interesting back stories!


3.) The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

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This might be cheating since I haven’t actually finished the series! BUT I have read the first two books and I definitely loved “The Dream Thieves” even more than I loved “The Raven Boys” so I’m just kind of assuming the series will only continue to get better as well!

You can read my full review of “The Raven Boys” here.


2.) The Winner’s Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski

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Once again I haven’t fully completed this series but I’ve read the first two books just not the last! I was really leery with the first book since I wasn’t sure it was going to be good or not and I was actually really pleasantly surprised by it! So of course I devoured the second book which was EVEN BETTER than the first one! So I think it’s safe to say this is one of those series you should stick with after the first book.

You can read my full review of “The Winner’s Curse” here.


1.) The Inkworld Trilogy

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This is my most prime example of a series that gets WAAAAAY better as it goes, the jump in awesomeness from “Inkheart” to “Inkspell” is huge! While I did really like the first book I still wasn’t super impressed with it but since I already had the second book I pushed on anyways and I am so glad I did! “Inkspell” is ten times the fun with way more characters, magic, and world building! Then there’s “Inkdeath”……I didn’t know it could get any better than “Inkspell” but it did, there are so many plot twists and so much emotional turmoil! The ending was perfect though.

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What are some series you think got better?

Do you agree or disagree with any of these series? Have you read any of them?

Are you big on finishing series or, like me, start them more than finish them?

Let me know in the comments!

The Sassy

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Childhood Books & Series

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Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Thoughts on Tomes and created by Lainey @ Ginger Reads Lainey. You can check out the group’s Goodreads page for this month’s topics!

Of course I want to desperately throw in Harry Potter and Percy Jackson but everyone needs to think outside the box a little bit and it was harder than I thought it would be! Mostly I’m sticking with Middle Grade here so let’s get ready for some nostalgia!

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5.) Nancy Drew Mystery Stories by Carolyn Keene

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This is probably one of the #1 series I was obsessed with when I was a kid, absolutely obsessed! It pretty much all started when I was in the third grade and my mom bought me one of the Nancy Drew computer games, of course I couldn’t get enough of it and read the books soon after. I feel Nancy Drew is one of those timeless classics that kids can read no matter how old the books get…….I’m feeling nostalgic now and want to go read/play Nancy Drew…….


4.) The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne

Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, #1)

Okay so I’d honestly like to know how many of you didn’t read this series as a kid? Because it was super popular and I feel like everyone did! It’s fantastic and I feel like if I even re-read them now I’d still love them. How can you go wrong with a magic time and space traveling tree house (it’s all very Doctor Who isn’t it)? I actually had a hefty collection of these before handing them over to my younger cousins and now I’m slightly regretting that……


3.) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia #1) by C.S. Lewis

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This might be cheating a little bit since it’s one of those classic, popular books/series just like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson but since it wasn’t specifically stated in the topic for today I decided I’d use it! Who doesn’t love The Chronicles of Narnia? My mom had all of the books from when she was a kid and I’ve only read the first book (I know it’s blasphemy) and when I did I honestly had so many emotions! It usually takes a lot to make me cry while reading a book and I balled my eyes out with this one…..my parents had to make sure I was okay……


2.) Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice #1) by Joseph Delaney

Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles, #1)

I think a lot of people might consider this YA but to me with the main character and the style of writing it feels a lot more like Middle Grade. I didn’t start reading these books until I was a little older but I think I can still consider it “my childhood”….kind of…..

Anyways it’s pretty creepy and full of monsters and the world building is actually really fantastic.


1.) The Inkworld Trilogy

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I think it’s safe to say this series was one of my #1 obsessions as a child alongside Nancy Drew since it was one of the first times I was exposed to high fantasy. Man, this series was addictive and actually full of some pretty dark stuff which makes me think I’d really enjoy re-reading it now as well. There are just so many wonderful, complex characters and the world building is seriously A+!

Although I will say I really didn’t enjoy Inkheart as much as the other two so if you didn’t enjoy Inkheart I highly suggest continuing on anyways since they get so much better!

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Did you read any of these books when you were younger? Or later?

What are some of your favorite childhood books?

Let me know in the comments!

The Sassy

Top Ten Tuesday: Series I’ve Been Meaning To Start

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jamie @ The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s theme is series we have been meaning to start and haven’t yet! I am notorious for starting series and usually never finishing them so there really weren’t that many series on my TBR that I haven’t started at all, but here are the few!

These aren’t in any specific order either!

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10.) The Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson

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I actually own the box set of the trilogy but just haven’t gotten to it yet. As a huge fantasy fan reading this seems to be an absolute must and I’m definitely excited to get to it, or really any Brandon Sanderson book!


9.) The Diviners Series by Libba Bray

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I’ve owned the first book for a while and just haven’t gotten to it yet, I am definitely a huge fan of creepy and spooky books so I’m hoping to get to it this October!


8.) The Falling Kingdoms Series by Morgan Rhodes

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Why haven’t I read this?! I bought the first book when it came out and still haven’t read it! I know I’m a terrible person, I will read it eventually especially since it’s such a popular series and was being marketed as a sort of YA Game of Thrones.


7.) The A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas

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Sarah J. Maas and her books are HUGELY hyped and while I did give the first book in her other series “Throne of Glass” a go , I also want to see what the big deal is with this series as well. I may turn out to be that person who just doesn’t click with her writing.


6.) The Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan

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I read and adored the Percy Jackson series but just haven’t gotten around to this one yet. I know, I know shame on me! I have a lot of catching up to do as far as Riordan’s series go though, but I definitely need to binge this series soon!


5.) The Firebird Trilogy by Claudia Gray

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I actually wasn’t too interested in this series right away since I thought, for some dumb reason, this was a contemporary series. It’s actually sci-fi and once I found that out and actually read the premise I was sold!


4.) The Magicians Trilogy by Lev Grossman

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I actually wasn’t SUPER interested in this trilogy right away but then I started watching the SyFy show on Netflix and could not get enough! No I haven’t finished season one yet but I’m in love and would definitely love to read this series now!


3.) The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix

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Not really sure why I want to read this series so much but the premise sounds like it promises a badass heroine and it seems to be another staple series in fantasy so I need to read it!


2.) The School For Good and Evil Trilogy by Soman Chainani

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I know this is a middle grade series but honestly it sounds so good! There are schools for training “good” princes and princesses and also to train the “evil” villains, what about this doesn’t sound interesting? I’m definitely excited to give it a try!


1.) The Insignia Trilogy by S.J. Kincaid

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I could always use more YA sci-fi on my TBR and after loving S.J. Kincaid’s other novel “The Diabolic” I really wanted to give her other books a try so I bought the first book in this series!

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What are some series you’ve been meaning to start?

Have you read any of these series/trilogies? What did you think?

Do you have any of these on your TBR as well?

Let me know in the comments!

The Sassy