Waiting on Wednesday: Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

Burning Kingdoms
Internment Chronicles #2

by Lauren DeStefano

Coming March 10, 2015

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Summary:

After escaping through the bottom of Internment, Morgan and her fellow fugitives aboard the great mechanical bird land on the ground to finally learn what has lived beneath their floating island home all these eons.

The ground is a strange place where water falls from the sky as snow, and customers watch moving pictures and visit speakeasies. A place where families can have as many children as they want, their dead are buried in vast gardens of bodies, and Internment is the feature of an amusement park.

It is also a land at war.

Everyone who fled Internment had their own reasons to escape their corrupt haven. But caught under the watchful eye of another king that wants to dominate his world, they wonder if coming to the ground will drag Internment down with them.

Why I want it:

I SHIP BASIL AND MORGAN SO HARD PLEASE MAKE OUT AND ALSO DON'T DIE (it's a Lauren DeStefano book so you know that's always a possibility) THAT IS ALL.

Why I think you should want it:

The world depicted in the Internment Chronicles is this cool almost-retro wannabe-utopian society that clearly has much wrong with it, but the events at the end of Perfect Ruin make it obvious that the world will be drastically different in Burning Kingdoms. It's hard to say very much about this series in detail because its mysteries are part of what make it so unique and awesome. I love the characters. I love the romance. I love the danger and the excitement and how much Lauren's writing makes me feel! If you would like to read more about the reasons I love this series, feel free to check out my 5 star review of Perfect Ruin here. 

So this is my pick for the week? What are you waiting on most impatiently this week?

Top Ten Tuesday #30: Best of 2013 part 2

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Books of 2013

Well, it would be way, way too hard to pick the top 10 overall in 2013 so instead, I'm just going to do a sequel post to the TTT I did earlier this year, which you can read here.

1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Let's just get this one out of the way now. I actually did write and read fanfic in college so I absolutely understand and relate to Cath.

2. United We Spy by Ally Carter. I thought this was a really fitting ending to the legacy of the Gallagher Girls, an ending this wonderful series deserved.

3. Scarlet & Cress by Marissa Meyer. I enjoyed Cinder, but adding the new characters and complicating the conflict really added depth to this wonderful series. Is it time for Winter yet?!

4. Shadow & Bone and Siege & Storm by Leigh Bardugo. This series is incredible. I mean the Grisha Trilogy is simply the textbook definition of epic fantasy. Great character development (including bad boys, good guys, roguish pirates, badA girls, AND delicious flirty princes), fast-paced action, swoony romance, unique mythology, and amazing writing.

5. Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick & Suzanne Young. Not only does this series have one of my favorite new romances, but it also introduced me to the intriguing concept of the sliding doors device, in which there are two alternate stories being told simultaneously.

6. Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano. This is one of those novels with a really cool retro-future, and it combines that feel with a murder mystery, set against a backdrop of the sky. There's so much going on in this novel, and somehow, Lauren keeps it all straight. Not only is the story interesting, but the characters are well-developed and relatable. I am already wishing for Burning Kingdoms!

7. Pawn by Aimée Carter. Such a cool novel filled with tons of intrigue. I'm very excited by this new series!

8. One & Only by Viv Daniels. This is a superbly written new adult romance. If all romances were written like this, the genre would not receive as much criticism as it does. Well done, Viv!

9. Taste the Heat by Rachel Harris. Super adorable and fun adult romance.

10. Playing Dirty by Jennifer Echols. Jenn is one of my top-five all-time favorite authors. Her 2013 ya Dirty Little Secret only misses this list because Playing Dirty is on here instead. This is an adult romance that is slightly steamier than Taste the Heat above, and it was just an absolute joy to read.

Bonus: top 2014 ARCs I've already read

I already mentioned Cress above, but I didn't want to leave out these other wonderful 2014 reads.

Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this way back in September. It's another hit for Jenn. Biggest Flirts is the perfect mix of fun shenanigans, top-notch chemistry between the main characters, and relatable life drama. I loved it!

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill. This is absolutely The Parent Trap mixed with every ice skating movie Disney and ABC Family has ever made, and I love it. It's cheesy and silly and fun and flirty. Loved it!

The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes. I love these ya novels full of hijinks and high school intrigue. It never turns out well for the characters (or at least as they intend their schemes to turn out), but it's SO entertaining to witness!

Infinite by Jodi Meadows. This is one of the most wonderful and complete series enders I've ever read. Full review coming soon, and I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. This is just a really emotional ride, and it's one that is not to be missed!

Top Ten Tuesday #29: Santa Wish List

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Books I Wish Santa Would Bring Me This Year

 Pretty self-explanatory theme, I think, although in my case, these books are really more pray-that-the-publisher-and-or-rafflecopter-take-pity-on-me or I'll-just-have-to-buy-these-myself because my family doesn't buy me books anymore unless I tell them what to get. I'm basically at the gift-card-only stage of life. Anyway, today, I split my group 5/5 into the ARCs that I need now or I'll die and the finished copies that I'm just really greedy for.

 ARCs:

1. Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott. I am so excited about this book. Tori is an awesome writer in addition to being an amazing person. And I am happy to announce that this wish came TRUE. My sister occasionally gets my mail, and sure enough, she brough my copy over on Sunday! Yay! Thank you, Scholastic!

2. Cress by Marissa Meyer. Yes, I've already read Cress, but it was so incredible, I wish I had my own copy! Regardless if I do manage to snag an ARC or not, this will be a to-buy book for me. It's JUST that good.

  

3. Evertrue by Brodi Ashton. I reallyreallyreallyreallyreally want one. I desperately need to know what's going on with Nikki and Jack! Crossing my fingers I can win a copy!

4. What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick. My Life Next Door was incredible. I just need more Huntley Fitzpatrick in my life.

5. Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg. I adore Elizabeth's writing. Her books are more must-buys for me. Every year, I eagerly anticipate my next EE fix.

Finished Copies:

  

6. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner. I have an ARC, which I will keep forever, but I think this will be a must-buy series. Tarver and Lilac...I ship them. And I want to hug that cover every night when I go to bed.

7. Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick & Suzanne Young. Lovely, lovely book. Chris is one of my new favorite book boyfriends. I love the sliding doors concept. After reading this, I'll definitely be picking up other books that use this device.

8. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I bought the ebook when it was on sale, but I think I'm going to have to splurge on a hardcover. This book is one of my favorites of 2013, and it has some interesting formatting that's just a little lost in the ebook. Nothing major, but it was just weird reading my Kindle copy after I've read a hardcover.

  

9. Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano. I had an ARC of this, but I gave it away. Not going to lie, I still wrestle with that decision because it was one of the first ARCs I'd ever been sent directly from the publisher (not won from a giveaway or picked up at a con). However, I'm glad I could spread the love to someone else. I bought an ebook when it was on sale, but this is another that I really want a physical copy.

10. Dare You To and Crash Into You by Katie McGarry. Yeah...I think this is a must-buy series. I have a paperback of Pushing the Limits because I met Katie, and I like to get at least one thing signed by an author. However, that was before I read the series so I didn't realize just how far in love I'd fall with this series. I have ebooks of all three, but again, this is a favorite enough that I would like the whole set. Also, I just really want the cover of Dare You To because DANG. Ryan's biceps. That is all.

Top Ten Tuesday #22: Can't-Freaking-Wait Sequels

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Sequels I Can't Wait For But I Have to Anyway Because the Publishers Say So

I love reading series. I always have. They keep me in reading. From The Baby-Sitters Club to Nancy Drew to Hardy Boys, Boxcar Children, Harry Potter, The Mediator, Artemis Fowl, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and more, my childhood books often chronicled mulitple adventures of the same characters. It's because I have a tendency to fall hard for my characters and want to read about them until they die, but heaven help the author who did kill a beloved character because that was always devastating. Hence the amount of serials in that list. I do like a good standalone, and in fact, sometimes I prefer them because they're good palate cleansers when I'm stuck in limbo between the next book's release or when I've been shotgunning a series. Naturally, I have far more than 10 books on this list, and there's no way I could ever possibly pick the absolute ten that I need most because I WANT THEM ALL GIVE THEM TO ME BEFORE I HAVE A MELTDOWN. *coughs* Sorry. So instead, I'm doing a bit of a differently styled list today. Some of the books included fit in several categories so I just picked the one I liked best. Enjoy!

The Next Installment

These are the in-between books. Not the beginning, not the end. These are the ballsy books that have to carry the story and that often pray they don't fall prey to the Curse of the Middle Book.

•  Burning Kingdoms (Internment Chronicles 2) - Lauren DeStefano
• Scorched 2 - Mari Mancusi (currently untitled)
• The Girl with the Windup Heart (Steampunk Chronicles 4) - Kady Cross
• Earthquake (Earthbound 2) - Aprilynne Pike
• The Infinite Sea (5th Wave 2) - Rick Yancey
• Firefight (Reckoners/Steelheart 2) - Brandon Sanderson

The Novella

I don't always need a full-blown novel to keep me going. 50-150 bonus pages set in a world I love are a luxury, and I seriously love this trend.

• untitled Internment Chronicles novella - Lauren DeStefano
• "Levana's Tale" (Lunar Chronicles) - Marissa Meyer
• "The Initiate," "The Son," "The Traitor" (Divergent) - Veronica Roth
• "Camp Christmas" (Camp Boyfriend) - J.K. Rock

The Companion

Like with the novella, I'm okay if the author chooses not to do a full sequel with the exact cast as the first one. I'll also take a story with new characters, as long as the old ones pop up every now and then.

•  Perfect Couple & Most Likely To Succeed (Superlatives 2 & 3) - Jennifer Echols
• The Boy Most Likely To (My Life Next Door 2)  - Huntley Fitzpatrick

The Next Book Isn't Even Out Yet, But I Already Want the One After That

Some of these, I've actually already read the next book so my desire for the one after that has been stoked. Others, I don't have to read the one that's about to be pubbed to know that I already want the next-next one.

• Blackcoat Rebellion 2 - Aimée Carter (currently untitled)
• Feels Like Fate (Hundred Oaks 5) & untitled #6 - Miranda Kenneally
• Take Me On (Pushing the Limits 4) - Katie McGarry
• Every book in The Dark Artifices, The Wicked Powers and TLH by Cassandra Clare

The Series Finale

The big kahunas. These are the books we most anticipate--and dread. These are the ones that truly have the power to make-or-break a series. Off the top of your head, you can list final books that did just that. Or you can go back to that TTT post we all did a couple weeks ago.

• The Forever Song (Blood of Eden 3) - Julie Kagawa
• Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten 3 - Julie Kagawa (currently untitled)
• My Not So Super Sweet Life (My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century 3) - Rachel Harris
• Mediator 7 - Meg Cabot (currently untitled)

My goodness, it seems like we've been waiting forever for City of Heavenly Fire and Mediator 7. OH WAIT THAT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE. But seriously, no rush. I really would rather an author take some extra time (here's lookin' at you Veronica Roth, Laini Taylor, & Michelle Hodkin) to get things right than for a book to come out exactly one year after the one before, but be weak like some of those make-or-break-and-we-broke-it books (once again, I'll state that I have not read Allegiant yet, so if you consider it to be a broken final book, please keep that comment to yourself along with the plethora of reasons why kthx).

I hope you've enjoyed my post of WAY more than ten books today. Did I hit just about all of yours? I wouldn't doubt it. If I did skip yours, let me know what it was and why I'm missing out! Feel free to share your TTT links as well.

Review: Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

Rating: 5 stars
Pub Date: October 1, 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: young adult
Format/Source: ARC, from the publisher
Status: First books in the Internment Chronicles series

 Disclaimer: I received a copy of Perfect Ruin from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Summary:

On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.

October New Release Giveaway

October is a month of some truly incredible new releases, and I happen to have some of these amazing books on my shelf. I have enjoyed them, but now they need to find a new home! As this is a multiple book giveaway, this will be open only to the United States. Please follow all my giveaway policies, which can be found in the Review & Site Policies tab above.

Prize: ARCs of How to Love by Katie Cotugno, Hereafter by Kate Brian, Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund, and Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano. If entries exceed 500, I will throw in TWO more October ARCs books of the WINNER'S CHOOSING from my giveaway shelf. This includes arcs and/or signed books. I'll send you the list, and you'll get to pick 2 additional prizes. Some signed books include Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Paranormalcy by Kiersten White and many, many more. Good luck!

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Top Ten Tuesday #15: Fall 2013 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR 

This week's list was pretty easy to write. Why can't they all be this simple and straight-forward?

1. The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead. After Indigo Spell, if you think I'm leaving the next installment of Richelle's superb Bloodlines series off my fall TBR, you are sadly f-ing mistaken (1:50 for that reference, but watch the whole thing, dang it!). Quite frankly, I needed a whole series of cold showers after reading TIS, and if the buzz I'm hearing about Fiery Heart is indicative of simliar action, I will be spending most of November submerging myself in buckets of ice. Also, it's a great story. Lots of action, mystery, and really, really good relationships. Not just the hot stuff. Richelle writes good friendships and good non-steamy parts of romantic relationships as well.

2. Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Duh. Like all of you don't have this on your list. 'Nuff said.

3. Just One Year by Gayle Forman. Yes, yes, yes. This is sitting on my shelf right now taunting me. 

4. Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano. After the hurt of finishing the Chemical Garden series, I am in in serious need of some DeStefano. Also sitting on my shelf taunting me.

5. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. This was the bonus book on my summer TBR list (of which I completed 7 out of 11). Now that it's closer to the pub date, I think it's time to actually read it. My brother in law RAVES about it and constantly peppers me. "Hey, Mary, have you read Steelheart yet?" "Mary, you need to read Steelheart." "Blah blah words blah Brandon Sanderson blah more words blah Steelheart." I read you loud and clear, bro!

6. In the Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin. Oh, this series. It's phenomenal. It's cool and original. It's about love and family and chocolate for heaven's sake! Also, cute boys. Read my Waiting on Wednesday post on it for more info.

7. Timepiece by Myra McEntire. Hourglass was really cool, and I've heard that although it's way different (hello, different pov!), Timepiece is even better. I mean, Caleb. That is all.

9. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke. I've heard absolutely wonderful things about this from people whose bookish opinions I fully trust. Not just wonderful things. Raving. Consider me sold. Plus, it seems really different. I think a little gothic lit could do me some good. I've been playing between contemporary and contemporary paranormal for a while now, and I want to delve into something deeper. See what I did there? :P

10. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Did you even read Eleanor & Park?! Of course you did. It was spectacular. SOLD. I think Fangirl is one of those novels, like Gayle Forman's Just One Day, that is true new adult lit. Sure, the smutty NA stuff can be entertaining, but smut is not the only reason NA should exist. I have a feeling this is going to hit me hard, and I'll love every moment.

Bonus books aka the I-have-to-read-these-in-the-next-couple-months-or-I'll-hate-myself-for-being-a-total-failure-of-a-fangirl-slash-blogger-slash-reviewer: The Elite by Kiera Cass. School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. White Cat by Holly Black. Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike. nantucket Blue by Leila Howland.

Waiting on Wednesday: Perfect Ruin

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

Perfect Ruin (Internment Chronicles #1)

by Lauren DeStefano

Coming October 1, 2013

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Summary:

On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.

Why I want it:

Lauren blew us all away with her first series, The Chemical Garden aka Wither. It was original, fresh, a little (or a lot) disturbing. Lauren's writing is so descriptive and the emotions she's able to convey... It's impressive. Her stories are lovely, but haunting. They stay with you after you read them. Plus, there's
action, adventure, romance, danger, and a huge mystery to cap it all off. I have a feeling that the Internment Chronicles will be much the same.

Why I think you should want it:

When I say there was romance in The Chemical Garden series, I mean there were two verrrry lustable love interests. I'm sure that Basil and Judas are up for the challenge. Also, this summary should have you really excited because it looks really cool.