Isn't It Romantic? - The Young Adult Edition

Isn't It Romantic?

#AmReading

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The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
Published by Orbit Books on August 23rd 2022
Age/Genres: Fantasy, Romance

Goodreads

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness.

Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest.

After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most – Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares – each other?

Happy Halloween - Animal Crossing Edition

If you're anything like me, Halloween is one of your favorite times of the year - from the pumpkin spice to the spooky aesthetic, there's lots of good stuff going on in October.

While Halloween is looking a bit different this year, my love of costumes remains. To fill the void, I've enjoyed dressing up my Animal Crossing character and other island residents. Check out some of my favorite costumes below!

Animal Crossing Gets Literary

Hello, friends! I hope you are all hanging in there during these times of self-isolation. Out here in Chicago, we've been pretty much shut down for almost two weeks now. As a home body, this time has definitely flown by for me! Especially due to the recent release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. To celebrate the new game, I've recreated some of the most iconic outfits from YA books!

Top Ten Tuesday: Childhood Favorites

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Childhood Favorites!

Talk about your deep cuts! My childhood was quite a many years ago, and I kept mixing up my childhood faves with those of my daughter, so, I invited Kiersten to share some of her favorites too.

#AmReading YA

Top Ten Tuesday: Shows I Wish Had Not Gotten Cancelled

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Shows I Wish Had Not Gotten Cancelled!

Once upon a time, I used to watch A LOT of TV. However, I am reluctant to start any new series, because I have trust issues. Why? Because networks have cancelled too many of my favorite shows. There are many that got axed right when they were picking up speed, and others eliminated without tying up loose ends. Below is a list of some of the shows Kiersten and I both wish had not been cancelled.

Review: Legendary - Stephanie Garber

Legendary
Stephanie Garber
Series: Caraval, #2
Genre/Age: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval...the games have only just begun.

Discussion: Blog Design

As you may have noticed, WLABB has recently redesigned the blog to a new, Sloth-tastic theme! Today we'll discuss the inspiration behind the design as well as some of the elements of the new design.

Featuring American Sloth-ic

Top Ten Tuesday: Iconic Performances of the 2000s

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Iconic Performances of the 2000s!

My mother is always amused by my description of 2000s movies/characters/songs as Iconic, so she suggested this topic. While the fashion choices of the 2000s were possibly questionable (I mean, I kind of love it and hate it at the same time), this period was filled with incredible, Iconic performances. While there are many Iconic performances of the time, I've chosen ten of my favorites to share below (in no particular order). Shoutout to 2004 for having so many Iconic performances.

Blogiversary - Look Who's 5!!

Today is a special day here at WLABB. It's our 5th Blogiversary! In honor of this special day, the WLABBers want to share their thoughts on how their lives have changed since the birth of this blog.

Review: Thunderhead - Neal Shusterman

Thunderhead
Neal Shusterman
Series: Arc of a Scythe, #2
Genre/Age: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.

Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.

Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

Off The Topic - Sloth's Alaskan Adventure

Several years ago when he was just a wee sloth, Sloth went on one of his favorite adventures - an Alaskan cruise! For this throwback Thursday, follow along with Sloth's Alaskan adventure!

Review: The Hidden Oracle - Rick Riordan

The Hidden Oracle
Rick Riordan
Series: The Trials of Apollo, #1
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Young Adult
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

It is no secret that I am a fan of Uncle Rick's work, given that I have written numerous glowing reviews for his work, and The Hidden Oracle is no exception to my love for his books.

The Hidden Oracle follows Apollo (that's right, the actual Greek god Apollo) as he is cast down from Olympus and stripped of his godly powers. Now an awkward, powerless mortal, Apollo must follow the whims of young demigod Meg in order to appease Zeus and restore his godly powers.

Review: Warcross - Marie Lu

Warcross
Marie Lu
Series: Warcross, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

I knew pretty much nothing about Warcross going into it, except that I thought it kind of sounded like a similar concept to the movie Summer Wars (which I highly recommend watching, just saying) and that Marie Lu wrote it (so basically I had to read it). Just like Summer Wars, I absolutely loved Warcross!

Warcross follows Emika Chen, a hacker from New York who works as a bounty hunter to try and make ends meet. When she gets recruited by Hideo Tanaka, the inventor of Warcross, she is thrown into the Warcross championship tournament as a spy, uncovering secrets she never would have expected.

I absolutely LOVED the characters in Warcross! Emi is an absolutely brilliant character, and I think I just really enjoy hacker characters in general because it's so cool!!! She made me think of Mr. Robot. Emi is a strong and crafty heroine with a lot of heart, and she went through a lot of personal growth, figuring out what was important to her, throughout the story.

While the other characters were not as prominent until the end, I thought her teammates were really interesting and I'm looking forward to reading more about them in the next installment. Hammie, in particular, was awesome (I have a bias toward strong female characters). Since Emi is more of a loner type of character, there wasn't a lot of friendship built with these characters, but I have faith that there will be more in the next book!

The romance in this book was so swoony and sweet. I enjoyed that even though there was an element of instant connection, it took a while for the characters to break down the walls they built around themselves before letting each other in. Marie Lu, as always, did an incredible job making me feel all the feels about this relationship.

In terms of the world building, this world is so cool!!! It's extremely well thought out and fabulously executed. Marie Lu was able to built a world similar to ours but fully enhanced by technology and virtual reality. It in no way felt forced, and it was so well described that I felt like I was using the technology. I even nerded out a little bit at the end with talks of algorithms because it reminded me of some of the machine learning I'll be doing soon. #nerdlife.

Overall, Warcross was a thrilling first installment to this new series. Marie Lu, once again, has delivered with a book that pulled me in and kept me reading until the end. Even though I thought this was a standalone until I got to the end (that was a tough blow), I am so excited to see where this book goes after the shocking end. It's not a cliffhanger, but it definitely left me craving more.

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced reading copy!

What's your favorite video game?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Haunting the Deep - Adriana Mather

Haunting the Deep
Adriana Mather
Series: How to Hang a Witch, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Paranormal
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Thanks to Knopf Books for Young Readers for the eARC I received via Netgalley!

Honestly, Adriana Mather has the coolest family history ever, and I'm kind of jealous.

Haunting the Deep follows Sam Mather as she is recovering from her How to Hang a Witch trauma and trying to lead a normal life. Unfortunately, normal isn't in the cards for her. When her school's spring fling dance is decided to be a Titanic theme and her history class dives into studying the Titanic, Sam gets thrown back into the world of magic and ghosts.

One of the coolest things about this series is the history woven into the stories. The Titanic is something that I never really studied in school, so it was really cool to learn more about what the Titanic was like as well as about some of the people who were on the ship. While the scenes depicted on the ship were fiction, most of the people were real, and it's heartbreaking when you really examine the tragedy.

I was also very excited to see the whole crew back for this second book! While there is a bit of Jaxon and Elijah, the focus of this book was definitely on friendship. Sam becomes closer with the Descendants at the start of Haunting the Deep, and their friendship crew throughout the book. I really enjoyed seeing Sam become a part of this girl squad since there wasn't much for female relationships in How to Hang a Witch (I mean, they all hated her so makes sense) and also because it meant more witchy business and MORE WITCHES IS ALWAYS THE ANSWER!!!!!

As for Jaxon and Elijah, fans of the romantic aspect from the first book may be disappointed - they were both kind of jerks for a lot of the book, which is understandable in the context of the story since Other Things were happening. I am still super conflicted about what team I'm on, so I'm interested to see where it goes in the next book.

Similarly to how the first book dealt with bullying, Adriana Mather wove elements of choice into this story. One thing that was really prominent in all the characters was the idea of what you think is right for someone being different than what is right for them. Explored through many different characters and situations, it was a really interesting thought to explore and very well done.

Overall, Haunting the Deep was an extremely satisfying follow up to How to Hang a Witch. The sequel delivered on the same suspense, excitement, and magic promised by the first book, and I simply could not put it down until I was done. I highly recommend both How to Hang a Witch and Haunting the Deep to readers who love witches, ghosts, history, and good books because this is a quality series.

Do you think Jack and Rose both could have fit?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Daughter of the Burning City - Amanda Foody

Daughter of the Burning City
Amanda Foody
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Thanks to Harlequin TEEN for the ARC I received at BookExpo!

When I read the blurb for Daughter of the Burning City, I knew that I needed to make it a priority to grab at BEA - having loved Caraval, an endorsement from Stephanie Garber really sold me on this carnival-centric book. After reading the book, I can say that it definitely did not disappoint me, and I loved every second of it.

"Wicked, wicked to the core, the city will burn forevermore."

Daughter of the Burning City follows Sorina and her Freak Show in the traveling city of Gomorrah's festival. Sorina is an illusion worker, which immediately intrigued me since I had just recently finished The Rose Society, but besides just projecting illusions into the minds of others, she can also create living illusions. These not-so-imaginary creations are Sorina's family and are a part of her show's act, but everything changes when one of her illusions ends up dead.

The city of Gomorrah is a fascinating setting for the story. I think the idea of a carnival always has two sides - the excitement of the performances paired with a sort of creepy undertone, a darkness behind the flashing lights. The city of Gomorrah is built in a similar way. The uphill area is family friendly, filled with fun performances, including Sorina's Freak Show. On the other hand, the downhill is a dark place filled with pickpockets, prettywomen, and assassins. As the proprietor's daughter, Sorina will someday inherit the job, but this story follows her as she is exploring the downhill for the first time as part of her investigation into her illusion's death.

I loved the layers that Amanda Foody built into Gomorrah as well as the surrounding cities. The cities outside of Gomorrah, in a way, mimic the city itself: there is the Upmountain, filled with religious zealots and wealth, and the Downmountain, a place seen by the Upmountainers as filth. Additionally, the Upmountain disciples of Ovren view jynx workers like Sorina as devil workers, unclean and unnatural. Now imagine the Upmountain and drop Gomorrah, a city of sin, in the middle. Besides the dynamic of the city itself, Amanda Foody was able to add in elements of the world around them while still crafting a mystery and romance and much more. IN UNDER 400 PAGES!!! Honestly, iconic. There was no point where I felt like the world building was forced or hard to follow - it was all laid out in a way that made it easy to understand and natural.

As for the characters, I was amazed by how vivid each of the characters were. Even though Sorina was the main character, her illusions and other secondary characters were still so real. Even a pickpocket who wasn't heavily involved in the story was still given layers, leaving me caring for him even though he was kind of a crook. Sorina's illusions' lives didn't revolve around her - they all had lives of their own.

Sorina was a really interesting character in that she had a lot of insecurity that she had to work past. Sorina was constantly second guessing herself, letting others who she viewed as smarter than her take the lead in situations where she was fully competent. I really enjoyed watching her grow throughout the book, finding her way and the confidence to ask the hard questions and find the hard answers.

And then there was the romance. I don't want to give too much away, but it was definitely unexpected in some ways. Regardless to the circumstances, it was super swoony and there was humor and support and basically it was an ideal, healthy relationship in the end, which is really nice to see in YA since I feel like a lot of romance focuses on the struggle rather than the support.

Overall, Daughter of the Burning City was a brilliantly crafted story filled with mystery, magic, and so much more. While I personally had a bit of a rocky start getting into it, this book quickly grabbed my attention and drove me crazy when there were pieces of the puzzle that I wasn't seeing. Filled with solid character building, flawless world building, a quick pace, and enticing mystery, this book will not disappoint.

If you had a circus act, what would it be?

Let us know in the comments!

Mini Review: Empire of Storms - Sarah J. Maas

Empire of Storms
Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass, #5
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

I feel like at this point there's no reason to write reviews for the Throne of Glass series - by now, pretty much everyone has decided whether or not they want to read the series. But while reading Empire of Storms, I felt compelled to write a little bit about it.

One thing that Sarah J. Maas never fails to include in her books is strong female characters, and these strong female characters come in many different forms. There's Aelin, who I can't even really begin to explain her strength because it's on all kinds of levels; there's Manon, who is a ferocious, wyvern-riding witch; there's Elide, who isn't ferocious or magically powerful, but is decisive, smart, independent, and fiercely loyal; there's Lysandra, who can shapeshift and who throws herself into danger to protect her friends; and there's, a fairly new character, Ansel, who is a trained assassin.

Sure, it's impressive in and of itself that Sarah J. Maas is able to build these strong characters, but what's more noteworthy to me is that all these powerful women support each other - rather than being pit head to head (although there's been a little bit of that throughout the series because of obvious plot reasons), we get to see these women banding together. Paired with how territorial and ridiculously some of the men behave in the books, and it's just wonderful.

Anyway, I am definitely a lover of the Throne of Glass series, and if you haven't decided if you want to read it or not yet, I'm Team Read TOG because these characters are so fierce and wonderful. And, I mean, the rest of it is good too.

Who's your favorite strong female character?

Let us know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday: Series I Have Been Meaning To Start But Haven't

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is...

Top Ten Series I Have Been Meaning To Start But Haven't!

Kiersten's Picks

The Raven Cycle
Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Goodreads

Admittedly, the first time I heard about The Raven Boys a few years back I was not interested - the blurb just didn't grab me, so then I never read it. But after hearing more about the series and seeing Maggie Stiefvater on various book event panels, it has moved up my list of series to read. I ALMOST got to read it a few months ago after waiting for the first book at the elibrary, but there was a mishap with my card being expired and it still auto-checked-out the book. However, I got back on the waitlist again, and it is almost my turn!

Daughter of Smoke & Bone
Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Goodreads

Looking at my TBR on Goodreads, the first book in this series is one of the first books I added to my shelves when I started my account, which is really sad because I've heard so many good things about this series.

Unearthly
Cynthia Hand
Publisher: HarperTeen

Goodreads

I think the reason I've yet to read this series (or at least the first book) is because somewhere in my head I told myself that I remembered seeing that the first book is 800 pages long, which is definitely not true, and I'm not sure where I came up with that. I haven't read any angel books in a while, so this seems like a great option!

The Winner's Trilogy
Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

Goodreads

Honestly, they're so pretty that I feel like it's reason enough to read them. Besides that, I've heard so many great things about this story, and I heard the love interest is swoony. Plus, it's dystopian, which is one of my favorite genres.

Singularity
Susan Kaye Quinn
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Goodreads

In my experience with Susan Kaye Quinn books, I have never been disappointed. From a book about mindreading to a "Bollypunk" fantasy romance, every story is so well executed. Which makes it even sillier that I haven't read this series yet despite having it!

Sam's Picks

As expected, this list is endless, but since I can only pick 5 to share, I had to come up some criteria for the selection process. I decided upon sifting through my list, that I will narrow it down to the series, which I have no excuse for not starting. These series have been fairly well received, and I own the first book in the series. It is my goal to be able to tell you in December, that I have read the first book in each of these five series.

Strange House Series
Kathleen Baldwin
Publisher: Tor Teen

Goodreads

I was lucky enough to win the first book in the series, and I was really excited to read it. Spies, boarding school, scientific inventions, romance -- this book has tons of interesting elements, which I would definitely enjoy. It also has a lot of great reviews. I really do want to read this, since it sounds great and I tend to enjoy historical fiction when I read it too.

Monsters of Verity Series
Victoria Schwab
Publisher: Greenwillow Books Goodreads

I fell in love with Schwab's writing through the Shades of Magic books. I was really excited about this series when I first heard about it, and quickly added it to my TBR. Monsters and the fight between good and evil is so classic, and I know Schwab did an amazing job with it, because there are scads and scads of stellar reviews. I was so eager to read this, that I personally bought a copy of this book. Now, I must hang my head in shame for not reading it.

The Forgetting
Sharon Cameron
Publisher: Scholastic Press Goodreads

I was so excited when I got this book at BEA last year. "What isn't written, isn't remembered. Even your crimes." This idea, that you have one day, when you can establish a clean slate or you can take total advantage and be as bad as you want to be. But there is one person, who remembers it all. Sounds great, right? I had every intention of reading it. I was doing a great job with the BEA books. I read at least 1 every week, but then Kiersten took some books to school, and you know, out of sight, out of mind.

Superlatives
Jennifer Echols
Publisher: Simon Pulse Goodreads

This is another book I won in a giveaway. Now, I know what you are thinking. This is exactly the kind of book I would love. A cute, contemporary romance, which leans towards the fluffy side. It's my signature read. And Echols is an author, who is well liked. I deserve to be shamed for this one sitting unread.

The Fixer
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens Goodreads

I kept seeing reviews for this thriller popping up everywhere, and I like to read a good thriller every once in a while. The blurb talks about this girl, who is thrust into this world of politics and power, and becomes the one who "fixes" her peers' problems, but being the fixer gets Tess involved in something much bigger. Count. Me. In. Put it on the TBR, bought the book, and then...never read it.

What series have you been meaning to start?

Let us know in the comments!