In My Mailbox (112)

I've been truly horrible about updating le blog, I know.  College is just ridiculous.  And it doesn't help that I don't have a way to post from my iPad, which is doubling for a laptop, while I'm at my dorm.  So the only chance to post is on the weekends, and I'm typically either busy with something else or uninspired.  I apologize from the depths of my dusty soul for making you suffer, deprived as you are of my posts.

But I shall share with you today what dropped onto my shelves this past week:

I am super psyched for this haul.  So psyched, that I am resolved to bring them with me to my dorm, even though I haven't the faintest idea where I'll put them.

From top to bottom:

The Royal Ranger by John Flanagan
Ranger's Apprentice #12
The Ranger's Apprentice series has been a favorite of mine since I was twelve, and now, I am faced with the very last book in the series.  The thing is about series I love is that I don't like to finish them. To me, I can better handle the suspense of not knowing what happens in the end compared to finishing and then never having a new story.  So I still haven't read the 10th Ranger's Apprentice book, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja.  It took me a year just to get myself to read Halt's Peril.  I don't know how long it will be until I finally crack into this one.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Anna #1
Lawd y'all, I can't even tell you how excited I am to have this for my shelves.  I reviewed Anna Dressed in Blood a long, long time ago but didn't get it for my shelves.  When I saw it in Half-Price Books, I just had to have it, especially since it was in such good condition.

The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce
Circle Reforged #1
It seems like HPB always has a copy of this book.  I was so excited to pick it up.  I read it a very long time ago, before the time of le blog.  A truly fantastic book.  I'm psyched to start rereading it.

Daja's Book by Tamora Pierce
Circle of Magic #3
Again, read this forever ago and I don't remember much of it.  So, along with The Will of the Empress, I'm excited to get to rereading it.

Champion by Marie Lu
Legend #3
Because this is one of those series where I couldn't read them all straight through, I'm going to go back and reread Legend and Prodigy before diving head first into Champion.

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
So far, this is a great book.  There's really nothing more to be said.  I'm excited to keep reading it.

A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull
Beyonders #1
I had seen the term "Beyonders" many times before, enough to where I knew that Brandon Mull was nearly as popular as Rick Riordan.  But what really got me to pick this up at HPB was the title: A World Without Heroes.  I thought, "Really?  Let's take a look at that."  And so far, it's brilliant.

The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge
The Iron Codex #1
I had my eye on this when it came out back in 2011.  I distinctly remember seeing it on the shelves at Borders but passing it up because I had a phobia (more like a bad habit) of picking up books at the store without reading them first and then having to either return them or let them growl and grumble on my shelf until I got rid of them.  I'm glad I finally picked this one up, because it's really good so far.

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge
This is one of them mysteeeeerious books.  I haven't started to read it yet but something about it intrigued me when I saw it at the bookstore.

Icons by Margaret Stohl
Icons #1
I was a little hesitant to get this when I first saw it because it seems a lot like a typical, run of the mill dystopian.  Also, I wasn't a ginormous fan of Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia's Beautiful Creatures series.  But something intrigued me enough to where I bought it.  Let's see how it goes.

Frozen by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston
Heart of Dread #1
I was not a fan of Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Blood series.  I couldn't even get fifty pages into that first book.  But a long time has passed since then, and after seeing Melissa and Mike at YALLFest this past year, I'm intrigued by what they've come up with together in this dystopian.  I've started and it's pretty good so far.  We'll see.

what did you get in your mailbox?

What I'm reading this week

I'm a bit of a freak, I know.  I prefer to read a whole stack of books at once whenever I don't have a must-have read on my shelf.  (I do currently have a must-read on my shelf, Champion by Marie Lu, but I'm planning on rereading the first two Legend books before starting on Champion.  So that's for winter break.)  The only two books that I haven't actually started yet are Icons by Margaret Stohl and A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge.

So from top to bottom:

Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce | In the past week, I've already reread the first three books of the Song of the Lioness series: Alanna: The First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, and Woman Who Rides Like A Man.  Tamora Pierce is one of my all-time favorite fantasy authors and since my current writing project is an elaborate fantasy, I'm sniffing for inspiration.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling | Another reread.  (Obviously.)  Again, I'm plumbing the depths for inspiration.  I'm attempting to identify what exactly Tamora Pierce and JK Rowling do that makes their stories so wonderful.  How do I bring that into my story?

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull | Picked this up, along with the rest of these mentioned, from Half-Price Books during their Black Friday event.  I had seen Brandon Mull's Beyonders book before, but had never given it much thought.  When I saw the first book there on the shelf, and in good condition, I figured, "Why not?"  So far, it is fabulous.

The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge | I will be quite frank.  I was fascinated with this book when it first came out, but it was one of those books I never picked up because there was something stopping me from actually getting it.  After seeing it at HPB, I just thought I needed a change up in material, some small break from all the fantasy swirling around in my head.  So far, it is coming together as a fantastic world.  Loving the first fifty pages.

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge | I had never heard of this before I saw it in HPB and even now, after turning it over and nearly starting it for the past day, I don't have much of an impression of it.  We'll see how it goes.  It looks great.

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver | A couple of months ago, I had resolved myself to the fact that I wouldn't be getting myself around to picking this up, but upon seeing it at a decent price at HPB, I figured I should get it.  And so far, it's wonderfully intoxicating and compelling.

Icons by Margaret Stohl | I'm iffy with this, but that's just a first impression.  I haven't actually started it yet.  We'll see.

Frozen by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston | I was not a fan of de la Cruz's Blue Blood series when I first tried reading it a long time ago, but after seeing Melissa at YALLFest for two years in a row, I figured I should pick up her book when I saw it at a good price at HPB.  So far, it's proving very promising.  Many good signs.

2014 Book Covers from Strange Chemistry

Hello all!
你们好！

Book covers light up my world.  They do.  Like the Fourth of July.  So I was pretty psyched when Strange Chemistry sent around an email with all of their new covers for 2014.  I am seriously looking forward to a few of these, particularly Emilie and the Sky World by Martha Wells and Under Nameless Stars by Christian Schoon.  Even if some of these haven't popped up on your radar, their covers are so lovely, I thought it would be a crime not to share.

The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard

For readers of Beth Revis and Patrick Ness this is an SF novel that can’t be missed.

17 year-old Riven comes from a world ravaged by a devastating android war, a parallel world to Earth. A Legion General, she is the right hand of the young Prince of Neospes. In Neospes, she has everything: rank, responsibility and respect. But when Prince Cale sends her away to find his long-lost brother, Caden, who has been spirited back to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in uncharted territory. Thrown out of her comfort zone but with the mindset of a soldier and in a race against time to bring Caden home, Riven has to learn how to be a girl in a realm that is the opposite of what she knows. Will Riven be able to find the strength to defy her very nature? Or will she become the monstrous soldier she was designed to be?

Shadowplay by Laura Lam

For all fans of Robin Hobb and Tamora Pierce, this extraordinary crossover fantasy features a truly unique central character.

The circus lies behind Micah Grey in dust and ashes. He and the White Clown, Drystan, have taken refuge in the decaying Kymri Theatre, home to the once-great magician, Jasper Maske. Though no longer a circus performer, Micah must still conduct a balancing act between his past and his future, while both avoiding the renewed and embittered rivalry of the magicians of Ellada, and the Policiers who are convinced Micah played a part in the death of his old Ringmaster.

A tale of phantom wings, a clockwork hand, and the delicate unfurling of new love, Shadowplay continues Micah Grey’s extraordinary journey.

Emilie and the Sky World by Martha Wells

A Girl’s Own Adventure in the spirit of Jules Verne

When Emilie and Daniel arrive in Silk Harbor, Professor Abindon, an old colleague of the Marlendes, warns them that she's observed something strange and potentially deadly in the sky, a disruption in an upper air aether current. But as the Marlendes investigate further, they realize it's a ship from another aetheric plane. It may be just a friendly explorer, or something far more sinister, but they will have to take an airship into the dangerous air currents to find out. Emilie joins the expedition and finds herself deep in personal entanglements, with an angry uncle, an interfering brother, and an estranged mother to worry about as well as a lost family of explorers, the strange landscapes of the upper air, and the deadly menace that inhabits the sky world.

Under Nameless Stars by Christian Schoon

Zenn Scarlett’s novice year of exoveterinarian training on Mars isn’t quite going to plan…

After facing a plot to destroy her school and its menagerie of alien patients, could things get worse? Yes, they could: her absent father has been kidnapped.

Desperate to find him, Zenn stows away aboard the Helen of Troy, a starliner powered by one of the immense, dimension-jumping beasts known as Indra. With her is Liam Tucker, a Martian boy who is either very fond of her, very dangerous to her, or both. On the verge of learning the truth about her father, Zenn’s quest suddenly catapults her and Liam thousands of light years beyond known space, and into the dark heart of a monstrous conspiracy.

Braving a gauntlet of lethal environments and unearthly life forms, Zenn’s courage is tested as never before. With the fate of entire worlds in the balance, she is racing headlong into trouble... again.

Feather Bound by Sarah Raughley

In contemporary New York, a swan girl must help her enemy destroy her best friend or risk being sold to the black market.

When Deanna’s missing friend Hyde turns up at his father’s funeral to claim his corporate empire and inheritance, she is swept into his glittering world of paparazzi and wealth.

But Deanna has a secret - and somebody knows. Someone who is out to get Hyde. And if she doesn’t play along, and help the enemy take Hyde down…she will be sold to the highest bidder in the black market for human swans.

Now Deanna is struggling to break free from the gilded cage that would trap her forever…

Until next time!

再见！

In My Mailbox (111)

I realize this graphic is awesome, my lovelies, but if you use it, please do be a dear and credit me :)

Beginner's Guide to Writing Reviews

Hey there y'all!
你们好！

Today I want to bring up an important subject: reviews, and what to keep in mind when writing them.

There are as many review styles as there are people; everyone is different.  Realize, though, that this also means that your review style is not going to jive with every reader who visits your blog.  Also, if you're frustrated by the lack of response to your reviews, consider the possibility that it is because your style isn't cutting it for the general public.

That's what I aim to do here today: point out what the general public tends to jive with.