Title: Carry On
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Pages: 384
Release Date: 10/6/2015

Goodreads Excerpt:

Rainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries with Carry On, an epic fantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simon and Baz from her beloved bestseller Fangirl.

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.

Related Titles: Fangirl, Landlines, and Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Title: The Gap of Time
Author: Jeanette Winterson
Rating: 3/5
Release Date: 10/6/2015

I can’t compare this to Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale, because I haven’t read the original play.
The Gap of Time is a new age retelling of A Winter’s Tale.
It tells a great story about a wealthy, successful man who gets jealous of his wife and his best friend. It gets to the point where he suspects that his wife is pregnant with his friend, Xeno’s, baby. The man, Leo, sends his baby daughter, Perdita, away from him and MiMi (his wife) to Xeno, because he assumes that since Perdita is Xeno’s daughter, he should be with his daughter.
I thought that this was a very interesting story, but it lacked the excitement and action that I usually like to see in the books I read.

Next I’ll Be Reading: The Tsar of Love and Techno: Stories by Anthony Marra

Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows
Book #: 1
Pages: 480
Release Date: 9/29/2015

Goodreads Excerpt:

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

Related Titles: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Title: The Sword of Summer
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
Book #: 1
Pages: 526
Release Date: 10/6/2015

Goodreads Excerpt:

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .

Related Titles: Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan, and The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan

I’ve been thinking recently that my blog lacks things that aren’t only review related, so I thought I’d start answering some bookish questions that I’ve seen floating around the book world!

1) What are you currently reading?

• For school, I am reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Johnathan Safran Foer. Personally, I am reading The Mainframe by Simone Pond, The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson, and To Nowhere by C.E. Wilson.

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde
Rating: 4/5

As per usual, I picked up this book, because my literature class requires me to read a classic. It was suggested to me that I read The Picture of Dorian Gray and, not liking classics all that much (based on ones read in the past), I thought I may as well read one that someone else liked.
I’m surprised in a number of different ways to discover that I actually liked this book. Not only did it incorporate a realistic representation of life during the time period, but it also added a supernatural aspect that kept me interested since the beginning.
The main character is Dorian Gray, a beautiful young man, who is the focus point of many of the other character’s lives. Dorian’s friend, Basil, takes a great interest in Dorian and frequently asks him to pose for his art. Basil introduces Dorian to Henry, a lord with a rare outlook on life and people. Henry voices his thoughts to Dorian, who soon comes to terms with his mortality and that everything at some point or another will wither away. He realizes that eventually, age will ruin his beauty. Dorian becomes jealous of the painting Basil created and makes a prayer/wish that the painting was the one that would age and decay, while he kept his youth and beauty.
Dorian’s life really begins to go downhill when Sybil Vane comes into his life. He goes down paths that he never imaged going down and his life just flipflops.
I love this book, because it gives a great message about life and to be careful what you wish for. It really makes you reevaluate your life and to put everything in prospective. I’m extremely pleased to have read this book and I hope to find another classic I like just as much.

Next I’ll be Reading: The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson and To Nowhere by C.E. Wilson.

Title: Legacy of Kings
Series: Blood of Gods and Royals
Author: Eleanor Herman
Rating: 5/5

“She can feel its heartbeat, its heat, its aliveness radiating in her own chest. It wants her to catch up with it.”

I first came across this book on Indie Bookstore Day. The bookstore I was at for a book signing happened to have an Advanced Reader Copy rack outside where everyone could pick a book to take home with them. After searching the books for a while, a bright purple book caught my attention. It sounded interesting enough, so I decided to take it.

Suddenly, I was hearing about it everywhere! Little did I know when I picked up that purple book, it was going to end up being a huge anticipated book for the fall!

Legacy of Kings is a beautiful mixture of passion, war, friendship, and history.
The book starts off with Katerina, a girl that has a strange connection with animals. I knew from the very beginning that Katerina would end up being a strong character. Not to mention that her relationship with Jacob just continuously broke my heart, but ended up making me really mad.

Alexander is a prince, only, he doesn’t want to be a prince. His father, the king, treats him like a daft cripple that can’t manage his own life, let alone the entire kingdom! Alex wants to get away. Him and his friend, Hephaestion, have a plan. Leave the kingdom. Explore great places and put all the pain of royalty behind them. With only one problem. They have no money.  Heph enters himself in a the Blood Tournament. The same Tournament Jacob is sent to. Many people fail the Tournament or die trying, but for those that survive and win, the rewards are great.

Zofia is having an arranged marriage with Alex. The only problem is that she’s in love with a soldier named Cosmas. She decides to run away to be with her one true love, but ends up getting more than she had bargained for.

This is obviously a book for lovers of adventure and history. Eleanor Herman does such a great blend of factual with fictional that it almost makes you feel like magic was real during that time. And the constant change of point of view really keeps you on your toes, always guessing, and keeps the action going. There’s almost never a dull moment and I can’t wait for book two!

“The war has only just begun.”

Next I’ll be reading: The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson and To Nowhere by C.E. Wilson

I know I am not alone in saying that I like my books in almost perfect, unread condition. It is, after all, the sole purpose to go to places like Barnes and Noble and spending outrageous $10-$20 or maybe even $30 or more on a book you don’t even know if you’ll like! Why? Because it’s new! The feel of a smooth, blemish-free copy that you are the first one to own!
Then there are those times when they don’t have the particular book you are looking for in stock and you are forced to use the Internet. Some people actually purchase books through the Internet frequently, favouring the prices more than those at an actual store and some people are just forced to use the Internet, because they have no other choice. They might not live close to any bookstores, perhaps they’re too impatient, no one really knows. everyone is different.
What’s so wrong with ordering books over the Internet? To many of you, probably nothing. A book is just a book and as long as it’s readable it doesn’t matter what it looks like, right? Maybe.
I know I have recently been trying to procure a brand new set of the Artemis Fowl series in matching hardback that is proving astronomically more difficult that I would liked to have imagined. I ordered the first book via Amazon, no problems, the condition I ordered, all good and well. Then, I ordered three other books that I could find on Barnes and Noble’s website (they don’t carry the hardback in stores). Two out of three books that I ordered did not have the correct cover. I was forced to drive an hour out of my way to return the books in the hopes of them ordering the correct covers. I was shocked to find that apparently this happens quite frequently and there’s no way for them to knowing order the book I want, because the ISBN numbers are identical. How very frustrating. I decided that maybe ordering from Amazon would work better, considering it worked so well the first time.
Apparently not.
I ordered three books, one from Amazon and two from sellers via Amazon. One of the sellers sent me the wrong copy, Amazon sent me the wrong copy, and I have yet to receive the third. So yet again two and possibly three of the three books I ordered are the wrong ones. Where does it end? Is it too much to ask for me to get the book that you advertise? If you have a picture of one book that you’re selling and you send me a different copy, I’m probably going to get mad, because in my mind, that’s false advertising.
I know what a few of you are thinking. Geez, get over it, it isn’t a big deal. You already said the ISBN numbers were the same and you tried anyway? It’s just books, they don’t need to match.
Well, it might not be important to all of you, but to me and a few others, it’s extremely important. How amazing would it be to have your favourite series, in new, unread condition, sitting on your shelves, completely matching? In a world like ours, I think that’s pretty magical. The way that they almost seem to blend into one big story instead of separate ones.
Call me crazy (and I probably am), but don’t you all want that? Just a little? Can you really blame me for wanting my series to match? Should it really be that hard to get the cover you’re asking for?
Some might be wondering why I decided to create this post.
Well.
I’m not entirely sure.
To raise awareness? Maybe
To rant a little? Oh yes
It doesn’t matter. I’ve never seen anyone talk about matching their books and I thought that it might be nice to write about it a little. To show those bibliophiles out there that they shouldn’t feel bad about wanting their books to match or for their books to be in perfect condition, because tons of people feel that way! I hope that someday soon, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and the other book sellers out there, make it easier for us to achieve this.

Title: Through the Ever Night
Author: Veronica Rossi
Rating: 3.5/5

Goodreads Review:
As usual, I read a few reviews before reading this book, to see how others thought of it. Many of the reviews said that this book was even better than the first one, however, I respectfully disagree. Perry and Aria were split up basically the entire book and even when they were together, they acted like strangers. I wanted the romance! It’s very disappointing, but I have total faith that the next book will be far better!

Next I will be Reading: Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman