Book: The Crown's Game
Author: Evelyn Skye
Series: The Crown's Game #1
Genre: YA historical fantasy
Publisher: Balzer + Bay
Release: May 17th, 2016
Pages: 399
Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.
And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.
Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?
For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.
And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love... or be killed himself.
As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear... the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.
This is the final post of Caroline and my Graceling Read Along, where we announce the winner of our contest!
And the winner is...
Are you ready fur Victoria Aveyard's next book in her Red Queen series? We just got both the title and the cover!
WHOAAA. I'm definitely loving the colour scheme of this one. The backgrounds are getting darker and darker, no? The centre piece...is it just me, or is it made of bones? And the tag line, "All Will Burn" is malicious indeed. I doubt neither Silver nor Red will escape a certain someone's wrath. Yet I can't help but notice how there's more Red blood than Silver dripping from the crown...
What do you think of the cover? Are you excited for this book? Let me know!
Book: Five Seven Six
Author: C.E. Wilson
Series: The Boy with Words #2 (final)
Genre: YA paranormal
Source: author (thank you, C.E.!)
Pages: 200
Release: April 28th, 2016
White Frost has only ever known the darkness. Everything outside of her closed society is The Unknown – a strange and dangerous place accessible to only a chosen few. White’s only glimpse of the world beyond comes from her beloved cousin in the form of mysterious collections of words that hint at astonishing wonders. When an accident upends her simple existence, she’s given an unlikely chance to see the truth for herself. What she finds is greater and more terrible than she could have imagined, and before long she is forced to make the most important choice of her life: does she accept her safe, limited world that she’s known or take a desperate gamble in a world not meant for her with the Boy with Words?
Book: Sisters of Salt and Iron
Author: Kady Cross
Series: Sisters of Blood and Spirit #2
Genre: YA paranormal
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 352
Release: March 30th, 2016
Lark Noble is finally happy. She’s trying to move on and put the events of the past behind her: the people who avoided her because she talked to the ghost of her dead twin sister, the parents who couldn’t be around her anymore and even the attempt she made on her own life. She finally has friends—people who know her secrets and still care about her—and she has Ben, the cute guy she never saw coming.
Wren Noble is lonely. Unable to interact with the living, she wants to be happy for her sister’s newfound happiness, but she feels like she’s losing her. It doesn’t help that Kevin, the very not-dead guy she was starting to fall for, seems to be moving on.
Then Wren meets Noah, the spirit of a young man who died a century ago. Noah is cute, he’s charming and he makes Wren feel something she’s never felt before. But Noah has a dark influence on Wren, and Lark’s distrust of him drives the sisters apart for the first time in their lives. As Halloween approaches and the veil between the worlds thins, bringing the dead closer to the world of the living, Lark must find a way to stop whatever deadly act Noah is planning, even if it means going through her sister to do so.
Book: Rising Shadows
Author: Ashley Townsend
Series: Rising Shadows #1
Genre: YA fantasy
Source: ebook, author (thank you, Ashley!)
Publisher: Kirkdale Press
Pages: 177
Release: January 1st 2012
Sarah Matthews is nearing the end of another eventless summer in the small town of Bethany, Oklahoma, bringing her closer to the start of her freshman year of college. Disheartened over the reality that yet another unexciting season is coming to an end, Sarah wishes for an unforgettable adventure. When mysterious circumstances transport Sarah and her younger sister back in time, she gets more of an adventure than she could have ever imagined. The two sisters find themselves trapped in the twelfth century in a place shrouded with mystery and deception. Assassination plots, kidnappings, and tumultuous adventures force Sarah to rely on the Shadow, a masked hero who comes to her aid numerous times. In order to uncover a conspiracy and save those closest to her, Sarah requests help from the Shadow and also from Will, the handsome and equally intriguing blacksmith she befriends. Sarah is strangely drawn to the excitement that seems to follow the town hero and begins to look forward to their secret encounters. She also finds herself caught in a romance with Will, despite the fact that their equally fiery personalities have a tendency to clash as they attempt to work together. But Will’s past is filled with secrets and pains, and Sarah finds it difficult to break through the walls he has built around him. Can the faith and love of God that Sarah exhibits in her own life cause his hardened facade to fall away as he discovers that forgiveness and mercy are never too far from reach?
Book: The Vanishing Throne
Author: Elizabeth May
Series: The Falconer #2
Setting: Edinburgh, 1848
Genre: YA fantasy
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Pages: 384
Release: June 21st, 2016
The second book in the Falconer trilogy is packed with surprises and suspense.
Aileana Kameron, the Falconer, disappeared through the portal that she was trying to close forever. Now she wakes up in the fae world, trapped and tortured by the evil Lonnrach. With the help of an unexpected ally, Aileana re-enters the human world, only to find everything irrevocably changed. Edinburgh has been destroyed, and the few human survivors are living in an uneasy truce with the fae, while both worlds are in danger of disappearing altogether. Aileana holds the key to saving both worlds, but in order to do so she must awaken her latent Falconer powers. And the price of doing that might be her life.
Rich with imaginative detail, action, fae lore, and romance, The Vanishing Throne is a thrilling sequel to The Falconer.
Hi guys! Welcome to one of the final posts of Caroline and my Graceling read along!
So today, we'll be doing a If-You-Liked-Graceling-You-Might-Like-These. I mean, who doesn't love getting book recommendations? This list has been composed of both Caroline and myself!
Book: Untamed
Author: A.G. Howard
Series: Splintered #3.5 (final)
Genre: YA fantasy
Publisher: Amulet Books
Pages: 288
Release: December 15th, 2015
A post-Ensnared collection of three stories—available in both print and e-versions.
Alyssa Gardner went down the rabbit hole and took control of her destiny. She survived the battle for Wonderland and the battle for her heart. In this collection of three novellas, join Alyssa and her family as they look back at their memories of Wonderland.
In Six Impossible Things, Alyssa recalls the most precious moments of her life after Ensnared, and the role magic plays in preserving the happiness of those she loves. Alyssa’s mother reminisces about her own time in Wonderland and rescuing the man who would become her husband in The Boy in the Web. And Morpheus delves into Jeb’s memories of the events of Splintered in The Moth in the Mirror, available in print for the first time.
This collection expands upon Ensnared's epilogue, and includes some deleted scenes to provide a “director’s cut” glimpse into the past and futures of our favorite Splintered characters.
Hi guys! Welcome to our last character profile post in Caroline (Just Another Bookish Blog) and my Graceling series read along! We've both had a really busy week, which is why these posts have been a bit delayed. But we're back on track now, and wrapping up our Bitterblue read along!
ALSO: remember that fan art/picture contest? Caroline and I were so blown away by great the entries were, and have decided to let YOU choose! The entires are HERE. Once you've taken a look, please vote on your favourite by using the poll at the top right of my blog! You have until Sunday! :D
Onto the character post! Today, I'll be doing the character profile of Teddy. Caroline will be doing Bitterblue herself, so don't forget to check hers out!
Book: The Hidden Oracle
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: The Trials of Apollo #1
Genre: middle grade fantasy, mythology
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 376
Release: May 3rd, 2016
How do you punish an immortal?
By making him human.
After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus's favour.
But Apollo has many enemies - gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.
