Top Ten Tuesday: 10 10 Books I Meant to Read in 2020 But Didn't Get To
This week’s TTT is about books we wanted to read last year but didn't get to. Most of these I feel like I'm the only person who hasn't read them yet but I wasn't in much of a mood to read fantasy last year and one or two might be ARCs I had that I let slide because let's face it... last year was hard.
1. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
2. From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
3. Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
4. Fable by Adrienne Young
5. The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young
6. The Hunter and the Mage by Kaitlyn Davis
7. Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore
8. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
9. Crave by Tracy Wolff
10. The Institute by Stephen King
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What books did you want to read last year that you never got around to?
Let me know in the comments or drop a link to your TTT!
#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.
What I Read Last Week:
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
I devoured this book! It was so good and creepy and dark. I didn't want to put it down while at the same time I didn't want it to end. This is definitely getting added to my favorite reads of 2020.
5 0f 5 Stars!
Currently Reading:
Since I really enjoyed Home Before Dark I decided to read Final Girls before what I chose last week for my next read (The House Guest... still listed below). I haven't had a ton of reading time and I honestly just wanted to savor Home Before Dark for a few days before diving into a new book so I'm hoping to get a little further into this one this week.
Next Read: The House Guest by Mark Edwards
I do still plan to read this one this month and I'm hoping to get to it by the end of the week.
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Most Anticipated Releases for January-June 2020
This week's TTT is about our most anticipated releases for the first half of 2020. There are so many amazing books coming out this year that I'm really excited for...
1. Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim
2. Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore
3. We Unleash the Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia
4. Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold
5. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
6. The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
7. Chains of Gold by Cassandra Clare
8. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
9. Redemption Prep by Samuel Miller
10. The Betrothed by Kiera Cass
What are some of your most anticipated releases for the first half of 2020? Did any of my choices make your list? Let me know in the comments & drop me a link to your TTT!
Today I'm helping InkSlingerPR and J.D. Evans reveal the truly gorgeous cover of the first book in the Mages of the Wheel Series, REIGN & RUIN! Make sure to preorder today!
Title: Reign and Ruin
Series: Mages of the Wheel, Book 1
Author: J.D. Evans
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Release Date: January 23, 2020
BLURB
“All magic is beautiful,” she said, “and terrible. Do you not see the beauty in yours, or the terror in mine? You can stop a heart, and I can stop your breath.”
She is heir to a Sultanate that once ruled the world. He is an unwanted prince with the power to destroy.
She is order and intellect, a woman fit to rule in a man's place. He is chaos and violence and will stop at nothing to protect his people.
His magic answers hers with shadow for light. They need each other, but the cost of balance may be too high a price. Magic is dying and the only way to save it is to enlist mages who wield the forbidden power of death, mages cast out centuries ago in a brutal and bloody war.
Now, a new war is coming. Science and machines to replace magic and old religion.
They must find a way to save their people from annihilation and balance the sacred Wheel—but first, they will have to balance their own forbidden passion. His peace for her tempest, his restlessness for her calm…
Night and day, dusk and dawn, the end, and the beginning.
Makram reacted to her touch by not reacting at all. His body remained tense, his eyes narrowed. Naime wondered if she’d offended him, and pulled her hand back, but he spun, catching her wrist.
He held her hand up between them. “I am accustomed to being left to my own devices. We will both need to adjust to this, yes? To being allies?”
Naime nodded. His thumb circled lightly against her palm. Some of the simple easiness of his presence in her space left. Expectant tension made her hyperaware of how their spaces interconnected, where their skin met, the roughness of his calloused thumb against skin that was tender and sensitive, how much distance there was between every part of her and every part of him. There was a pull she had not perceived before, as if the most natural thing in the world would be to step closer.
“There is one thing.” His voice took on the same purr it had earlier. Naime felt too vulnerable without the shield of irritation she had kept between them. Without something to focus on that took her mind from the fact he was attractive, that when given the opportunity, he was kind and playful.
“What?” Naime was appalled at the weakness of her own voice.
“When this is over, I would like to call you by name.”
“That doesn’t seem like a very good idea.”
“No, I don’t think it is.”
But she wanted that, to hear him say her name, like they were friends. She had so few. In his eyes, void and oblivion leached outward in inky tendrils from his pupils. There was so much she wanted to know about him. About his magic. About Sarkum.
“If you win, I will agree. But also…you will tell me everything I want to know about your magic.” She twisted her hand gently free of his grip and reached for his cheek, fascinated by the manifestation of his power. She stopped before she touched him, the spell broken by the suspicion that passed over his face.
“No, your name is in exchange for me winning. If you want to know about my magic, then you have to offer something of equal value.” He turned his face a fraction, as if he meant to move it against her outstretched fingers, but did not.
“I am trusting you with all my dreams for the future. You don’t think you can trust me with this?”
“Is your name worth that much?” he asked as she lowered her hand to her side.
“Only you can decide that.” She curled her hands in her caftan to prevent herself reaching for him again.
“Well, I will have plenty of time to consider it as I prepare for this. Which reminds me that I need something else.” He scooped a handful of almonds from a plate and shook them in his fist.
Naime raised her eyebrows in question. “It is yours, for your magic.”
He grinned, and tipped his head in agreement. “Rope.” He tossed a few of the almonds into his mouth. “And grappling hooks.”
About the Author
J.D. Evans writes science fiction and fantasy romance and is the author of the novel, Reign & Ruin. After earning her degree in linguistics, J.D. served a decade as an army officer. She once spent her hours putting together briefings for helicopter pilots and generals. Now she writes stories, tends to a tiny human, knits, sews badly, gardens, and cultivates Pinterest Fails. After a stint in Beirut, J.D. fell in love with the Levant, which inspired the setting for her debut series, Mages of the Wheel.
J.D. currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, though she will always be a Montana girl at heart.
Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.
I've seen this book mentioned but I finally checked out what it was about and it sounds fantastic...
Red Hood
Standalone by Elana K. Arnold YA, Fantasy, Retelling eBook, Hardcover, audiobook 368 Pages February 25, 2020 by Balzer + Bray Blurb
You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked.
And the wolf is angry. Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good. But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions. About the blood in Bisou’s past and on her hands as she stumbles home. About broken boys and vicious wolves. About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.
Elana K. Arnold, National Book Award finalist and author of the Printz Honor book Damsel, returns with a dark, engrossing, blood-drenched tale of the familiar threats to female power—and one girl’s journey to regain it.
Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.
I can't remember where I first saw this book but I fell in instant cover love then became obsessed when I read the blurb...
Seasons of the Storm
Standalone by Elle Cosimano YA, Fantasy eBook, Hardcover, 480 Pages June 23, 2020 by HarperTeen Blurb
One cold, crisp night, Jack Sommers was faced with a choice—live forever according to the ancient, magical rules of Gaia, or die.
Jack chose to live, and in exchange, he became a Winter—an immortal physical embodiment of the season on Earth. Every year, he must hunt the Season who comes before him. Summer kills Spring. Autumn kills Summer. Winter kills Autumn. And Spring kills Winter.
Jack and Fleur, a Winter and a Spring, fall for each other against all odds. To be together, they’ll have to escape the cycle that’s been forcing them apart. But their creator won’t let them go without a fight.
Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.
The release date for this one is still a long way off but I was sold when they said "The Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge"...
Where Dreams Descend
Kingdom of Cards Book 1 by Janella Angeles YA, Fantasy eBook, Hardcover, Audiobook, 464 Pages June 2, 2020 by Wednesday Books
Blurb
In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.
As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.
The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost
The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told
The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide
Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.
Hey Bookdragons! Happy Monday! Today I'm helping Entangled Teen and author Tracy Wolff reveal the cover of her 2020 release - described as one of Entangled Teens biggest, most anticipated releases of 2020 - CRAVE!
Crave is a romantic and thrilling tale of forbidden love, about the undying battle between feeling nothing and feeling so much, it could destroy everyone you love.
Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released.
I first saw this book mentioned on social media after BookCon this year... which I didn't get to attend.. :( ... and added it to my TBR for next year!
Scavenge the Stars
Scavenge the Stars Book One By Tara Sim YA Fantasy, Retelling eBook, Hardcover, 336 Pages January 7, 2019 by Disney Hyperion
Blurb
When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide. Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception—and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she’s plotting to bring down—the more she uncovers about the truth of her past. And the more she realizes she must trust no one…
Packed with high-stakes adventure, romance, and dueling identities, this gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo is the first novel in an epic YA fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Sabaa Tahir, and Leigh Bardugo.
