Waiting on Wednesday #649, October 18th

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating! 

Defiant by Brandon Sanderson

Expected Publication: November 21st, 2023
From Goodreads:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes the final book in an epic series about a girl who will travel beyond the stars to save the world she loves from destruction.

Spensa made it out of the Nowhere, but what she saw in the space between the stars has changed her forever. She came face to face with the Delvers, and finally got answers to the questions she’s had about her own strange Cytonic gifts.

The Superiority didn’t stop in it’s fight for galactic dominance while she was gone, though. Spensa’s team, Skyward Flight, was able to hold Winzik off, and even collect allies to help with the cause, but it’s only a matter of time until humanity–and the rest of the galaxy–falls.

Defeating them will require all the knowledge Spensa gathered while in the Nowhere. But being Cytonic is more complicated than she ever could have imagined. Now, Spensa must ask herself: how far is she willing to go for victory, if it means losing herself–and her friends–in the process.

The final book in the Skyward series will free humanity, or see it fall forever.

War Widow by Deborah Falaye

Expected Publication: November 21st, 2023
From Goodreads:
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Just two books, but I love their writing and these series! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #591, October 3rd

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #590
Teaser Tuesday #598
WWW Wednesday #598
WOW #594
Will the Time Come #591
Third Sentence Thursday #581
Random Reads #567
First Lines Friday #594
Book Blogger Hop #260

22 Books to Read in 2022 Update 7

Monthly ARC's Update 23

The Reward Challenge Update #576
Wheel of TBR #123
How Well I Stuck to It #428
Wrote that Review Update #425

Week 39 Reviews:
The Lost Prince

Little Wrecks

In Mercy, Rain

Lost in the Moment and Found

Blood Scions

The Golden Enclaves

Stealing Infinity 

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina 

Sign Here

A Duel With the Vampire Lord

A Duel With the Vampire Lord Bonus Scene

Fed 

Deadline

So This is Ever After

Not Even Bones

Becca's BookoplAthon: 

Update 17

Update 18 and Wrap Up

Roll as You Go Round 2022 Sign Up

Update 1

Update 2

SeasonAthon Academy: 

Update 16

Update 17

Update 18 

Update 19 and Wrap Up

Greek God-a-Thon: 

Update 3

Update 4

Update 5 and Wrap Up

ARCtober 2022: 

Sign Up

Update 1

Update 2

Random:

Book Battle October 2022 TBR

OK, so I got 43 posts in 7 days, which is a pretty good week. Personally, this is my vacation week, but Jax is causing some stress, I'm hoping he'll feel better later today. Edited to add, it's looking good, we'll see what he's like at suppertime, but at breakfast, it was good news. What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read whatever I want! 

Week 39 Review: Blood Scion

From Goodreads:

A young girl with forbidden powers must free her people from oppression in this richly layered epic fantasy from debut author Deborah Falaye, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology and perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and An Ember in the Ashes.

This is what they deserve.

They wanted me to be a monster.

I will be the worst monster they ever created.

Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will—she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods.

Under the Lucis' brutal rule, her identity means her death if her powers are discovered. But when she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army on her fifteenth birthday, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.

Sloane rises through the ranks and gains strength but, in doing so, risks something greater: losing herself entirely, and becoming the very monster that she ahbors.

Following one girl's journey of magic, injustice, power, and revenge, this deeply felt and emotionally charged debut from Deborah Falaye, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, is a magnetic combination of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin and Daughter of Smoke and Bone that will utterly thrill and capture readers.

My Review:
This was a stunning book! I had a hard time getting into it-because the topic of child soldiers is hard to read. But oh, was it such a fantastic story, and once I got through the first chunk, the rest of it just flowed, and I couldn't put it down!

Right off the bat, I'll say that I love this cover. It's the kind that I like, I just love the colours, it looks so beautiful, with the flames, and the jewelry, yeah, this cover is stunning. I can't wait to see what the cover of the sequel is going to look like! 

This whole book, basically, was in a state of constant tension. If the army knew that she was a Scion, they'd kill her in a brutal way. So that fear of discovery was on the back burner the whole time, definitely was a part of why I turned the pages so quickly. But at the same time, it was so great to watch her learn these skills that she's going to use against them, though the learning of them was pretty brutal. Her journey was just hair raising and incredible to read, as they tried to forge her into a monster.

Oh, and that ending! That reveal was just so shocking, and makes the events of this book even worse. After every horrible thing that happened to her, to her people, to learn that? That was pretty intense! And those final pages? I need to know what's going to happen next!

This was a fantastic read, and I can't wait to read more! 

Author: Deborah Falaye
Series: Blood Scion #1
Read: September 26th, 2022
Source: Edelweiss/Library
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a DAC Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Harper Teen
Published: March 8th 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Monthly ARC's Update 23

So I read my next book for Monthly ARC's and it was Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye from the March list, and Sign Here by Claudia Lux from the October list!

Here's the link to this month's post with my journey.

How it Works: 

This is my monthly ARC accountability challenge, to list out the books that I have as ARC's that are being published in the coming month, rounding them up at the start of the month, and seeing how well I did at the end, as well as rounding up the next month's books.   

SeasonAthon Academy Update 16

So I read my next book for SeasonAthon Academy, and it was Blood Scion which was for the prompt HIST 1030, and I'll be reading The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina next! 

My Reading Journey:

The Chariot at Dusk by Swati Teerdhala

Prompt Fulfilled: CLAS 3960 

Started On: September 1st

Finished On: September 1st, 11:24 AM

Pages Read: 432

The Mistake by Elle Kennedy

Prompt Fulfilled: PHIL 2260

Started On: September 1st

Finished On: September 1st, 4:43 PM

Pages Read: 340

Roomies by Christina Lauren

Prompt Fulfilled: COMM 2200

Started On: September 2nd

Finished On: September 2nd, 1:02 PM

Pages Read: 368

Tomes Apprentice by Honor Raconteur

Prompt Fulfilled: PHIL 2210

Started On: September 3rd

Finished On: September 3rd, 10:26 PM

Pages Read: 254

Master of Tomes by Honor Raconteur

Prompt Fulfilled: PHIL 2010

Started On: September 4th

Finished On: September 4th, 7:50 PM

Pages Read: 268

Desperation in Death by J.D. Robb

Prompt Fulfilled: HIST 2450

Started On: September 7th

Finished On: September 7th, 10:22 PM

Pages Read: 368

The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski

Prompt Fulfilled: PHIL 2350

Started On: September 9th

Finished On: September 9th, 10:00 PM

Pages Read: 331

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty

Prompt Fulfilled: PHIL 1110

Started On: September 10th

Finished On: September 10th, 3:53 PM

Pages Read: 336

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Prompt Fulfilled: ENGL 1010

Started On: September 10th

Finished On: September 10th, 9:30 PM

Pages Read: 384

Vengeance of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Prompt Fulfilled: MATH 1010

Started On: September 15th

Finished On: September 15th, 8:17 PM

Pages Read: 416

Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski

Prompt Fulfilled: FLNG 1020

Started On: September 18th

Finished On: September 18th, 8:36 PM

Pages Read: 378

We Are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian

Prompt Fulfilled: HIST 2440

Started On: September 19th

Finished On: September 19th, 8:41 PM

Pages Read: 368

The Scoundrel Falls Hard by Sophie Jordan

Prompt Fulfilled: HIST 1011

Started On: September 20th

Finished On: September 20th, 5:02 PM

Pages Read: 384

Go Hunt Me by Kelly deVos

Prompt Fulfilled: FLNG 1010

Started On: September 23rd

Finished On: September 23rd, 4:32 PM

Pages Read: 304

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Prompt Fulfilled: HIST 2850

Started On: September 23rd

Finished On: September 23rd, 8:13 PM

Pages Read: 400

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye

Prompt Fulfilled: HIST 1030

Started On: September 26th

Finished On: September 26th, 8:22 PM

Pages Read: 432

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

Prompt Fulfilled: HIST 2820

Started On: September 

Currently On: Page 0 of 336

Prompts Left: HIST 2510, MLNG 1050

Read: 16

Pages Read: 5735

Waiting on Wednesday #562, February 16th

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

Crowbones by Anne Bishop

Expected Publication: March 8th, 2022
From Goodreads:

In this engrossing and gripping fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, an inn owner and her friends must find a killer—before it’s too late.…

Crowbones will gitcha if you don’t watch out!

Deep in the territory controlled by the Others—shape-shifters, vampires, and even deadlier paranormal beings—Vicki DeVine has made a new life for herself running The Jumble, a rustic resort. When she decides to host a gathering of friends and guests for Trickster Night, at first everything is going well between the humans and the Others.

But then someone arrives dressed as Crowbones, the Crowgard bogeyman. When the impostor is killed along with a shape-shifting Crow, and the deaths are clearly connected, everyone fears that the real Crowbones may have come to The Jumble—and that could mean serious trouble.

To “encourage” humans to help them find some answers, the Elders and Elementals close all the roads, locking in suspects and victims alike. Now Vicki, human police chief Grimshaw, vampire lawyer Ilya Sanguinati, and the rest of their friends have to figure out who is manipulating events designed to pit humans against Others—and who may have put Vicki DeVine in the crosshairs of a powerful hunter.

From Dust, a Flame by Rebecca Podos

Expected Publication: March 8th, 2022
From Goodreads:

Hannah’s whole life has been spent in motion. Her mother has kept her and her brother, Gabe, on the road for as long as she can remember, leaving a trail of rental homes and faded relationships behind them. No roots, no family but one another, and no explanations.

All of that changes on Hannah’s seventeenth birthday when she wakes up transformed, a pair of golden eyes with knife-slit pupils blinking back at her from the mirror—the first of many such impossible mutations. Promising that she knows someone who can help, her mother leaves Hannah and Gabe behind to find a cure. But as the days turn to weeks and their mother doesn’t return, they realize it’s up to them to find the truth.

What they discover is a family they never knew, and a history more tragic and fantastical than Hannah could have dreamed—one that stretches back to her grandmother’s childhood in Prague under the Nazi occupation, and beyond, into the realm of Jewish mysticism and legend. As the past comes crashing into the present, Hannah must hurry to unearth their family’s secrets—and confront her own hidden legacy in order to break the curse and save the people she loves most, as well as herself. 

Star Father by Charlie N. Holmberg

Expected Publication: March 8th, 2022
From Goodreads:

When the heavens go dark, hearts still glow for a mortal woman and a god in an exhilarating fantasy by Charlie N. Holmberg, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Star Mother.

In a heavenly war, the moon is prevailing…

It happens in an instant, filling Aija with dread: the Sun is suddenly cast from the sky, throwing the Earth into midday darkness. On the fourth day of endless night, Aija finds an unconscious man by the river. His skin is as hot as her lantern’s glass and just as golden. To Aija, a farmhand with the soul of an artist, this beautiful stranger is an inspiration—and a mystery. He calls himself Saiyon. He bleeds light. His friends are celestial. His enemies, godlings of the moon.

Between Aija and Saiyon, attraction grows warmer. For Aija, an unfathomable revelation: she’s falling in love with the earthbound Sun God. When Saiyon’s faltering powers are restored to full glory, what then? There’s a way Aija can become immortal, too. Saiyon can’t support such a risk.

Aija chooses to follow her heart to places darker and more dangerous than she realizes. Whatever sacrifices lie ahead, they’re the only way to make an impossible true love last forever.

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye

Expected Publication: March 8th, 2022
From Goodreads:

A young girl with forbidden powers must free her people from oppression in this richly layered epic fantasy from debut author Deborah Falaye, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology and perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and An Ember in the Ashes.

This is what they deserve.

They wanted me to be a monster.

I will be the worst monster they ever created.

Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will—she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods.

Under the Lucis’ brutal rule, her identity means her death if her powers are discovered. But when she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army on her fifteenth birthday, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.

Sloane rises through the ranks and gains strength but, in doing so, risks something greater: losing herself entirely, and becoming the very monster that she ahbors.

Following one girl’s journey of magic, injustice, power, and revenge, this deeply felt and emotionally charged debut from Deborah Falaye, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, is a magnetic combination of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin and Daughter of Smoke and Bone that will utterly thrill and capture readers.

Killing Time by Brenna Ehrlich

Expected Publication: March 8th, 2022
From Goodreads:

“Deathly smart, twisty, and at times wickedly funny, Killing Time is a pitch-perfect mystery.” — Kara Thomas, author of The Cheerleaders

Summer in Ferry, Connecticut, has always meant long, lazy days at the beach and wild nights partying in the abandoned mansions on the edge of town. Until now, that is.

 

Natalie Temple, who’s never been one for beaches or parties in the first place, is reeling from the murder of her favorite teacher, and there’s no way this true-crime-obsessed girl is going to sit back and let the rumor mill churn out lie after lie—even if she has to hide her investigation from her disapproving mom and team up with the new boy in town…

 

But the more Natalie uncovers, the more she realizes some secrets were never meant to be told. 

Squire by Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas

Expected Publication: March 8th, 2022
From Goodreads:

Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It's the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship. Ravaged by famine and mounting tensions, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again, so Aiza can finally enlist in the competitive Squire training program.

It's not how she imagined it, though. Aiza must navigate new friendships, rivalries, and rigorous training under the unyielding General Hende, all while hiding her Ornu background. As the pressure mounts, Aiza realizes that the "greater good" that Bayt-Sajji's military promises might not include her, and that the recruits might be in greater danger than she ever imagined.

Aiza will have to choose, once and for all: loyalty to her heart and heritage, or loyalty to the Empire.

The Truth About White Lies by Olivia A. Cole

Expected Publication: March 8th, 2022
From Goodreads:

For fans of I'm Not Dying with You Tonight, this gripping YA novel digs into the historical and present-day effects of white supremacy and the depths of privilege.

Shania never thinks much about being white. But after her beloved grandmother passes, she moves to the gentrifying town of Blue Rock and is thrust into Bard, the city's wealthiest private school. At Bard, race is both invisible and hypervisible, and Shania's new friends are split on what they see. There's Catherine, the school's queen bee, who unexpectedly takes Shania under her wing. Then there's Prescott, the golden boy who seems perfect…except for the disturbing rumors about an altercation he had with a Black student who left the school.

But Prescott isn't the only one with secrets. As Shania grieves for the grandmother she idolized, she realizes her family roots stretch far back into Blue Rock's history. When the truth comes to light, Shania will have to make a choice and face the violence of her silence.

Some really great authors here, and a bunch of new to me authors, and I can't wait for these books to be out! What about you guys? Happy reading!