Random Friday: Spring 2014 Reads

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So I know Top Ten Tuesday has a topic like this in a few weeks, but I like doing it multiple times. :) These are the books coming out from March-May 2014 that I'm looking forward to.

1. Dangerous by Shannon Hale (3/4)

*flails* Shannon Hale! It comes out next week!

2. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (3/4)

It comes out on the 4th, too!  Guess I know what I'll be doing that day (going to the bookstore and getting these two books, that is).  I had an ARC of this lovely novel, but it was missing 30 crucial pages, so I'm especially looking forward to buying a finished copy.

3. Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy (3/18)

It sounds like the perfect twist on the average cancer book.

4. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (4/1)

I've already talked enough about this one for y'all to know why I'm looking forward to it.

5. The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith (4/15)

Preordered this one.  Of course I'm excited.  I can't wait for y'all to read my review! 

6. Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman (4/22)

I think this could easily be the best historical fiction book of 2014. But it's probably a bit too early to say for sure.

7. The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt (5/6)

*fangirls*

8. Pulled Under by Michelle Dalton (5/6)

My problem is, there are so many fabulous books coming out on May 6th, I'm going to have to severely limit which ones I buy.  This will be one of the books I do.

9. The One by Kiera Cass (5/6)

This is one of the series enders I'm really looking forward to.  Oh, gosh, she has to choose Maxon.

10. Free to Fall by Lauren Miller (5/13)

I love how high-tech the cover looks, what with the font and how the cover overall look sort of like a screen (it's more noticeable when you look at the cover close-up).  And just this book in general sounds awesome.

So that's it!  10 of the books this spring that I'm looking forward to.  What about you? What spring 2014 releases are you looking forward to?

Young Adult Retellings

A couple days, Epic Reads posted this handy-dandy chart to their website.  It contains 162 YA retellings - and that doesn't even include them all (I know of a few that are missing). Here's the link to their post, so you can see all the books and add them to your TBR lists!



It's interesting to see what has been retold the most: Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White, Greek mythology, Romeo and Juliet, Jane Austen... But it's also fun to see the diversity: Asian mythology, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Tarzan (that's one of the books under Other)...

I counted, and I've read a grand total of 26 of these books.  I have to say, that seems pretty shabby.  My favorites are Cruel Beauty, Princess of Glass, Throne of Glass (which I didn't know was a Cinderella retelling...), Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Princess of the Midnight Ball, The Healer's Apprentice, Splintered, Across a Star-Swept Sea, Dorothy Must Die, Scarlet (the Robin Hood retelling), Falling for Hamlet, The Chaos of Stars, and the Percy Jackson series.

Now I'm off to add some of the books on the chart to my own TBR list!  Let me know if you've read and enjoyed any of these retellings, and which ones interest you now that you know about them!

Top Ten Tuesday: Covers

Today is a Rewind TTT, which means we can pick any topic previously covered.  Since I've only been doing TTT since this past summer, I had a plethora of options, but I decided to go with something simple.  My favorite covers.  And I'm cheating, because there's definitely more than 10.

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

  

 

Cress by Marissa Meyer

The One by Kiera Cass

Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale

Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

  

 

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

Golden by Jessi Kirby

The Black Circle by Patrick Carman

Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed

  

 

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

  
 

Elusion by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

  
 

Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson
Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White
In a Handful of Dust by Mindy McGinnis
Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Fifteen 2015 Reads

So, in a recent spell of boredom, I went on Goodreads and found a list with YA books coming out in 2015.  One thing I noticed was that 2015 seems to be the Year of Horror and Thriller.  Seriously, so many books seemed to be revolved around kidnappings, paranormal horror, horror movie-type things, etc.  But anyways, I already had some 2015 reads on my TBR list (Winter, the final Lunar Chronicles book; the third Princess Academy book by Shannon Hale; and The Lonely Hearts Club sequel by Elizabeth Eulberg), but my TBR unreleased list just gained about twenty new books.  And I want to share some of them with you.  So here are fifteen 2015 releases that you should have on your radar.

THE ONES THAT PLAY WITH THE ORIGINAL

(a.k.a., books that retell a classic or fairytale)

Lock & Mori by Heather Petty

For all you Sherlock fanatics out there, this book is one for you.  Teenage Sherlock, teenage female Moriarty, and a mystery.

(I'm sure that's all of you in the Sherlock fandom. What do you call yourselves?)

A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas

Sleeping Beauty retelling!

But it's after Aurora is awakened, and I think it's going to be very cool.

THE ONES WITH FUN AND DIFFERENT SETTINGS

5 to 1 by Holly Bodger

Futuristic India?  That could be - and hopefully will be - very interesting.

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough

1920s Seattle!  I love historical fiction and the 1920s were a fascinating time period.  Plus, Seattle isn't the usual 1920s setting.

Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

Boarding school in Korea?  K-pop fandom?  I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before, and I'm beyond excited.

THE ONES INVOLVING DEATH

Embassy Row book 1 by Ally Carter

Ally Carter is one of my top favorite authors, and the premise of her new series has me over-the-moon.  

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Physics geek?  Obsessed with planning her death?  I shouldn't be happy about that second item, but I am.

Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick

What I like about this one is that it sounds slightly similar to Love Letters to the Dead, but also completely different.  It's mainly the older sibling dying that helps me make the comparison.

THE LOVE STORIES

The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre

Perfect girl, angsty guy.  A bit overdone, but I'm all for it in books that sounds as good as this one.

A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery

I don't really have any gif-worthy feelings for this one, but it sounds really good.  I can't wait until a longer synopsis is available.

Kissing in America by Margo Rabb

The main character is obsessed with romance novels.  There's a cross-country trip, which I assume is a road trip.  Both of those deserve a...

THE BOOKS I COULDN'T CATEGORIZE

(Not that they're too unique or weird, but just that I didn't feel like they fit into any of the above categories.)

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Misfits, poetry club, a competitive swimmer with OCD?  I think Tamara's upcoming book is going to be refreshing and new.

The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

It's part of a dualogy, and it's fantasy!

The Cage by Megan Shepherd

This book sounds creepy and awesome all at the same time.

Spin by Jenn Marie Thorne

Politics, romance, a newfound family... I'm in.

Seriously, y'all should add these to your TBR lists now.

Rewind & Review #7

Hosted by Shae Has Left the Room.

The winners in my 50k pageview giveaway have been chosen, and all have been contacted.  Thank you to all who entered and made this an awesome giveaway. :) I'll see you at the next one. And keep an eye on my Twitter... you never know when I'll do a spur-of-the-moment giveaway there, particularly if I reach 250 followers soon.

Books I Received

 
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer
(Both are from my bookish Valentine.  Thanks so much, Christy!  She was my bookish Valentine, and she also gave me some cool book swag and mini Kit-Kats.)

  
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly
(Thanks to Read Between the Lynes for these awesome ARCs, especially since Arlene emailed me on Wednesday night, saying they had one I'd be super excited for!)

Books I Bought
None!  I had to mail a lot of packages this week (which was a huge hassle, and I'm learning just how much the postal system hates book bloggers), and I'm also saving for Elizabeth Eulberg's book signing next week (plus there are a ton of books coming out on March 4th that I'll need to buy).  Thankfully, I was gifted the awesome books above, and I already have plenty to read, between those, the library, rereads, and any previous review copies I've received.

Books I Read

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith (reread)
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
Traitor in the Shipyard by Kathleen Ernst
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick (DNF)
Just One Year by Gayle Forman (reread)

Blog Posts You Might've Missed

• Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West (5 stars)
• Top Ten Tuesday: Being a Blogger/Bookworm
• Mini Guest Reviews: Faking Normal and Fire & Flood by Courtney C. Stevens and Victoria Scott, respectively (2 stars and 4 stars)
• Waiting on Wednesday #2
• Review: Better off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg (5 stars)