Hello, and happy new year to you all. Wishing you a wonderful, prosperous and book filled 2017. You know, sometimes you can go for months without coming across a real gem of a book. Other times, every book you read is a five-star wonder. That’s been the case for me so far in 2017. Here are some great reads I’ve picked up lately. [book-info]I know I’m a bit late to the table with Nicola Yoon’s masterpiece. The Sun is Also a Star tells the story of Natasha, an undocumented Jamaican-American immigrant on the point of deportation and Daniel, a young Korean-American struggling with the conflict between his dreams and his family’s expectations. The novel takes place over 12 hours, during the day on which Natasha’s family is due to be deported. The characters are well grounded, beautifully described and their romance is believable. I was really rooting for those two, despite their different outlooks. I loved how the lives of those with whom they come into contact are also briefly described, showing how everyone’s lives are interconnected and that no man is an island. I’m pretty confident that, come December 2017, The Sun is Also a Star will be…
Hello and welcome to my reading roundup for this week. I have read/listened to a couple of books about which I’d like to tell you. [book-info]The first of these is Caraval by Stephanie Garber. Now, you won’t find this in the stores yet; it was one of the Advance Reader Copies I picked up at BEA and it won’t come out until January 2017. I won’t say too much about it – I’ll post a full review nearer the time – but let me say you have a treat in store. Garber has created a wonderful, whimsical world in Caraval with lots of mysteries, red herrings and weird characters. I have the feeling that this first book is only starting to scratch the surface of what we will find out about this world. This is a definite five out of five for me. [book-info number=1]I wasn’t nearly so happy with the second book I listened to, which was The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi. This is a retelling of the Persephone/Hades story and unfortunately, it failed to grab my attention. I kept falling asleep while listening to the audiobook. I forced myself to finish it, but it was a…
Hello, and welcome to the first of three posts detailing all the books I picked up at Book Expo in America last week. It was a wonderful time and I picked up some amazing books. There’s a lot to get through, so let’s get started. Of the ARCs I picked up one of the ones I’m most excited about is Caraval by Stephanie Garber. I was able to snag a ticket to get it signed about which I was very happy. This is the first in a YA duology by a debut author, and it is certainly getting a lot of buzz. The tagline for the book is Before you enter the world of Caraval, you must remember that it’s all a game . . . This sounds really intriguing and it will be one of the first of the ARCs I picked up that I will read. It is next on my list after finishing Maggie Stiefvater’s The Dream Thieves. Caraval will be published in January 2017. Another book I picked up was Aaron Safronoff’s Sunborn Rising: Beneath the Fall. This is a YA fantasy book in which Barra and her two friends must work to prevent a blight of…
So, as I’ve mentioned in my blog before, this year I attended BEA (Book Expo America) in Chicago. As my books are being shipped, this is not my official BEA book haul – expect that one in a week to ten days! This was the first time I have attended, and I was both a little nervous and excited. Although I’ve heard it described as San Diego Comic Con for booklovers, it is a trade show for those in the publishing industry as well as those involved in promoting books through blogs. Now, I’m passionate about books, but this blog is pretty small fish compared to some and at first, I admit I felt somewhat overwhelmed and, to be honest, a bit of a fraud. I found myself thinking, I don’t work in publishing should I really be here getting all these free books? That lasted for about two hours! It was a great experience meeting some fantastic authors, checking out all the awesome upcoming releases and chatting with like minded bookworms. Note to self: when waiting in line to meet famous authors, take the time to Wiki their last book if it’s been more than a few months since I…