I Can't Wait For... Reign!

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 loved the first two books now I'm anxiously awaiting the conclusion... 

Reign

Stormheart Book 3
by Cora Carmack
YA Fantasy
eBook, Hardcover, 352 Pages
August 25, 2020 by TorTeen


Blurb:
FIRST SHE ROARED. THEN SHE RAGED. NOW IT'S TIME FOR HER REIGN.

Aurora Pavan wanted to change her world.

She wanted to protect her people, not because they paid taxes, but because they deserved to live without fear. She wanted Pavan to be a home that welcomed everyone--remnants, stormhunters, and witches included.

For the first time in her life, she did not dread the duty into which she was born. She wanted it.

Then she met him. The Stormlord--the man who wielded the same magic as she, but with the intent to destroy rather than save. The Aurora Pavan who came home from that confrontation was not the same girl that had braved the wildlands and joined a rebellion. She was no longer the girl who was ready to change the world, ready to rule.

But she's the queen now all the same. And her kingdom needs her.

If only she can keep the new darkness inside her at bay.

The series that USA Today called "bright, electric, and imaginative" continues: Aurora Pavan rises to take her throne in this third installment of the Stormheart series by New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack.

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Will You Be Checking This Book Out? Have you read the first two books?

{Book Review + Excerpt}: Roar by Cora Carmack

From New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack comes her debut young adult fantasy, ROAR! Releasing June 13, 2017, ROAR takes readers on an adventure filled with charismatic characters in an enthralling world sure to keep them turning the pages. Order your copy today!

Roar (Stormheart #1) by Cora Carmack

Blurb:
New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack's young adult debut: Roar.

In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora's been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage. 

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2rvA6ag

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/2qxlFoi

iBooks: http://apple.co/2rvx3im

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2q0MP2U

Book Depository: http://bit.ly/2qWjb3Q

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My Review:

Eighteen-year-old Aurora Pavan is the last living heir to the Pavan throne, but she's yet to show any hint of the magic she'll need to protect her kingdom from the violent storms that plague the land, so her mother has devised a plan. She will marry the second son of the king of Locke - an intimidating man named Cassius. 

When Aurora first meets her betrothed, he charms her into thinking that this just might work. That is, until she catches him in an illegal marketplace and realizes Cassius is merely intending to marry her for some sinister purpose. 

While in the market Aurora meets a group of Storm Hunters, including the alluring Locke - who was born without magic and now has the ability to face off against storms. At that moment Aurora begins to see a way out of her impending marriage and a way to finally gain some power and control over her future - if she has the courage to grasp the opportunity. 

Life on the road as a storm hunter is anything but easy and Aurora - now calling herself Roar - must figure out where she fits in with her new life, all while trying to conceal her true identity even as she begins falling for Locke and making friends with the other hunters. When Roar has an unexpected reaction to a twister she, and the others, must ask if she is more of a danger to the others than she's worth. Or does her reaction hint at an unexplained ability? What would happen if Roar's new companions figure out her true identity? And what would happen if her former betrothed's soldiers catch up to her? 

I fell in love with Roar's cover first. Then I fell in love with the story itself. For me, Roar was a slow read that I wanted to take time and savor every minute of. The idea of the storms having power and the Stormlings having to use magic to defend against them was truly unique. More so, I loved Locke and the other storm hunters.

 They reminded me of real life storm chasers that follow twisters - crazy, brave people that get right in there with the storm. Locke's crew was well developed and I loved each of them - except maybe Sly. I only wish we could have seen more of them interacting with Roar individually, other than mainly Duke, Locke, and Jinx. 

As for Cassius, I'm not sure that I saw him as a villain really. I almost kind of wished he would have been sincere and could have built a life with Roar, but it wasn't meant to be. It was great being able to see things in his perspective though, as well as in Novaya, Roar, and Locke's perspectives - and the mysterious Stormlord. 

Overall, I loved Roar. This book is well rounded, with romance for the people like me that can't live without it and plenty of action, adventure, and magic to please all fantasy lovers. Our seemingly unmagical heroine, Aurora, reminded me of Anna in Rosalyn Eves's Blood Rose Rebellion and the savage Stormlord gives hint toward Sarah J. Maas's Erawan in the Throne of Glass series and I can't wait to watch this series continue to take shape, to see what challenges wait for Aurora upon her return to Pavan and how learning who she truly is will affect the way that the hunters see her. 

My Rating:

5 of 5 Stars

EXCERPT
You are lightning made flesh. Colder than falling snow. Unstoppable as the desert sands riding the wind. You are Stormling, Aurora Pavan. Believe it. 

Believe it, and others will too.

It was a vow that her mother, Queen Aphra, made her swear on the day she reached twelve years. She had gripped her daughter’s shoulders tight, and Rora could still remember the pinch of pain, the furious beat of her heart as she saw how afraid her mother was and learned to be afraid too. 

Today that fear had led Aurora Pavan to sign her life away before she ever had the chance to really live it. 

As she was primped and prettied like some kind of sacrificial offering, her mind remained stuck on her morning spent in the throne room. She recalled the rasping sounds as the treaty was unrolled and the way her fingers suddenly felt too weak to hold a quill. Many days of her sheltered life had been spent writing out ideas and facts and figures for her tutors, yet in that moment, she had struggled to remember the letters of her name. Then she had met her mother’s eyes, and those familiar words came to her again. 

Colder than falling snow. 

That was what Rora had to become as her shaking hand sealed her fate with a scratchy, bleeding line of ink. And now hours later a stranger peered back at her from the looking glass, powdered white so that none of her flaws would show. 

Rora’s white-blonde hair had been curled and bound up in an elaborate ceremonial headdress that was crowded with jewels, flowers, and four jagged crystals cut like bolts of lightning to mimic her mother’s skyfire crown. Headdresses honoring a family’s ancestors were an important part of Pavanian tradition for the upper echelons of nobility to the poor and working class. They were donned for birth and death and every major life event in between, including betrothals. But this headdress was larger than Rora had ever seen. It had to be anchored to the thick metal necklace she wore about her collar with embellished fastenings, and it weighed on her nearly as much as the events of the night still to come. 
Her already pale skin had been covered in a shimmering white powder, which made her look like she’d just emerged from a blizzard. Her ribs were tightly bound in a corset that squeezed and squeezed until it felt like all her organs were in the wrong place. Over that was a heavy, beaded gown whose neckline dipped low, revealing far more cleavage than she had ever shown. The fabric clung to her frame until it fanned out at her knees into a long train, and the color of the dress changed from white to ash gray to glittering black. 

Rora looked exactly as her mother had always told her to be—lightning made flesh: blinding white and bright against a dark sky, and the train that pooled around her was the ground, charred black by her impact. 


It was stunning. Exquisite, really. Even, Rora, who hated dresses of all kinds, could tell that. It was also a lie. Every jewel, every bead painted a picture of someone that wasn’t her. But that was the goal for tonight’s betrothal celebration…to be someone else, to be the perfect Stormling princess. Because if she failed, everything could fall apart. 

TRAILER

 https://youtu.be/3fIxbHRHnGc

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9172c1a0373/?

Cora Carmack’s ROAR – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

June 5^th

As The Book Ends – Review & Excerpt

BookWorm221 – Review & Excerpt

Milky Way of Books – Review & Excerpt

Omg Books and More Books – Review & Excerpt

Reads All the Books – Review & Excerpt

Taylor Fenner's Bookish World – Review & Excerpt

June 6^th

AC Suqared Book Blog – Excerpt

Happily Ever After Book Reviews – Review

Letshaveakya – Review

Movies, Shows, & Books – Excerpt

Read more sleep less – Review

Smart & Savvy with Stephanie – Review & Excerpt

June 7^th

Ali's Reviews and More – Review & Excerpt

Becky on Books – Review & Excerpt

Books, Dreams, Life – Excerpt

Dazzled by Books – Review & Excerpt

Miss Nicole The Librarian – Review

Quite the Novel Idea – Review & Excerpt

June 8^th

Adventures in Writing – Excerpt

BookCrushin – Review

Crazii Bitches Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

NovelKnight – Review

The Rest Is Still Unwritten – Review

What Is That Book About – Excerpt

June 9^th

Books Books Books – Review & Excerpt

Bookshelf Adventures – Review

Crystal's Chaotic Confessions – Excerpt

Feeling Fictional – Review & Excerpt

Grownup Fangirl – Review

The Rest Is Still Unwritten – Excerpt

June 10^th

Ceres Books World – Review & Excerpt

My Fangirl Chronicles – Review & Excerpt

Red Hot + Blue Reads – Review & Excerpt

Tales of the Ravenous Reader – Review & Excerpt

Zili in the Sky – Review & Excerpt

June 11^th

Book Briefs – Review

PBC – Excerpt

Ramblings From This Chick – Review

Vi3tbabe – Review & Excerpt

With Love for Books – Review

June 12^th

Feed Your Fiction Addiction – Review & Excerpt

MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Reads & Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Swoony Boys Podcast – Review & Excerpt

Take Me Away To A Great Read – Review & Excerpt

Whatever You Can Still Betray – Excerpt

June 13^th

Beneath The Covers Blog – Review & Excerpt

Chapter Break – Review & Excerpt

I'm A Book Shark – Excerpt

Moonlight Rendezvous – Review & Excerpt

Resch Reads and Reviews – Review

Two Chicks on Books – Review & Excerpt

June 14^th

Boundless Book Reviews – Review

Kindle and Me – Review & Excerpt

Lovely Reads Publishing – Excerpt

My Book Filled Life – Review & Excerpt

Stuck In Books – Excerpt

The Cover Contessa – Review & Excerpt

Bibliobibuli YA – Review & Excerpt

June 15^th

A Hopeless Romantic's Booklandia – Review & Excerpt

Books Need TLC – Review & Excerpt

Lit This & That – Review & Excerpt

Seeing Double In Neverland – Review

The Book Hookup – Review & Excerpt

This Jabberwocky Eats Books – Review & Excerpt

Shelf Life-Review

June 16^th

Bookish Things & More – Review

Closet Geeks and Slow Mo – Review & Excerpt

Fishing for Books – Review

Library of a Book Witch – Review & Excerpt

The Book Maven – Review & Excerpt

Under the Covers Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

June 17^th

Book Lovers Hangout – Review & Excerpt

G & T's Indie Café – Excerpt

Little Red's Reviews – Excerpt

Smokin' Hot Reads Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

The Ordinary Housewife Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

YA Insider – Review

About Cora Carmack:

Cora Carmack is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Since she was a teenager, her favorite genre to read has been fantasy, and now she’s thrilled to bring her usual compelling characters and swoon-worthy romance into worlds of magic and intrigue with her debut YA fantasy, Roar. Her previous adult romance titles include the Losing It, Rusk University, and Muse series. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages around the world. Cora splits her time between Austin, TX and New York City, and on any given day you might find her typing away at her computer, flying to various cities around the world, or just watching Netflix with her kitty Katniss. But she can always be found on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and her website www.coracarmack.com.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #69

Oooh, the 69th week of my "WIR"-Wednesday posts! That makes me think of Zoey Derrick's 69 Bottles series, but alas - that's not what I'm reading this week. This is partially a "What I'm *Still* Reading" Wednesday and a "What I Will Be Reading" Wednesday because I fully intend to finish reading the book I'm currently on by tomorrow morning at the latest and start with the next book on my list by tomorrow night...

Roar (Stormling #1) by Cora Carmack

Blurb:

In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora's been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage. 

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.

Current Progress:

Page 205 of 378 (54%)

Here's What I Will Be Reading Next...

The Great Pursuit by Wendy Higgins

Blurb:

One hunt has ended, but the pursuit for love and justice continues.

The kingdom of Lochlanach has traded the great beast that once terrorized the realm of Eurona for something far more dangerous: the ire of powerful Lashed woman Rosaria Rocato. Rosaria demands that Eurona overturn the laws prohibiting magic, or an innocent will be killed each day.

Despite the king’s resistance, Princess Aerity believes they must make peace with the Lashed, and though she’s accepted a betrothal to the man who took down the beast, she cannot help thinking about Paxton, the Lashed man who stole her heart and disappeared.

Aerity soon discovers that Paxton has joined Rosaria’s army in the war against her family. Though her feelings for him are still strong, her duty to her kingdom and her family is stronger—especially when her parents are kidnapped and she has to step up to the throne and once again put aside what’s best for her in order to do what’s best for her people. Paxton and Princess Aerity must fight to see what is more powerful: their love or the impending war between the magical Lashed and the non-magic humans.

Why I Chose This Book To Read Next | What I'm Hoping Will Happen:

I've been waiting to read this book for so long and it's at the top of my TBR list now that I've received my ApollyCon Virtual Signing Order. I've been puzzling and puzzling over what would happen in this book since I finished The Great Hunt and this is what I hope will happen:

1) Paxton and Aerity will end up together

2) The lashed will find equality with the non-lashed

3) Aerity's cousin and her current betrothed will end up together... maybe?

4) Paxton's brother will end up with someone... maybe? 

Will any of my hopes come true? I'll let you know after I read The Great Pursuit... or will I? *cue evil cackling*

Special Announcement & Cover Reveal for author Cora Carmack

As promised, I had a surprise announcement post today and it's all about NYT Bestselling Author, Cora Carmack's upcoming novel... ALL CLOSED OFF! Read on for this special announcement & cover reveal!

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From New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack, comes the highly anticipated fourth standalone title in her Rusk University Series, ALL CLOSED OFF! A passionate story and journey, get ready to be mesmerized with Stella’s story! ALL CLOSED OFF is coming your way May 1, 2017!

   

Cover Design and Photography by Kelsey Kukal-Keeton at K. Keeton Designs

ABOUT ALL CLOSED OFF (Releasing May 1, 2017):

Stella Santos is fine.

Maybe something terrible happened to her that she can’t even remember. And maybe it drives her crazy when her friends treat her like she’s on the verge of breaking because of it. Maybe it feels even worse when they do what she asks and pretend that it never happened at all. And maybe she’s been getting harassing emails and messages for months from people who don’t even know her, but hate her all the same.

But none of that matters because she’s just fine.

For Ryan Blake, Stella was always that girl. Vibrant and hilarious and beautiful. He wanted her as his best friend. His more than friends. His everything and anything that she would give him. Which these days is a whole lot of nothing. She gets angry when he’s there. Angry when he’s not there. Angry when he tries to talk and when he doesn’t.

When Stella devises an unconventional art project for one of her classes all about exploring intimacy—between both friends and strangers—Ryan finds himself stepping in as guinea pig after one of her subjects bails. What was supposed to be an objective and artistic look at emotion and secrets and sex suddenly becomes much more personal. When he hits it off with another girl from the project, Stella will have to decide if she’s willing to do more than make art about intimacy. To keep him, she’ll have to open up and let herself be the one thing she swore she’d never be again.

Vulnerable.

     

✦Add it to your Goodreads ✦

     

Don’t Miss All of Cora’s Standalone Rusk University Series Titles!

 

ALL LINED UP

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iTunes

ALL BROKE DOWN

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iTunes

ALL PLAYED OUT Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iTunes

      About Cora Carmack: 

 Cora Carmack is a twentysomething New York Times bestselling author who likes to write about twentysomething characters. Raised in a small Texas town, she now lives in New York City and spends her time writing, traveling, and marathoning various TV shows on Netflix. She lives by one rule: embrace whatever the world throws at you and run with it (just not with scissors).          

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Cora Carmack Goodreads