2019 Releases I’m Excited for

I’m having a terrible day, and it’s only 7:46 am in the morning… I accidentally grabbed the tuppleware containing defrosting pork steaks instead of my lunch from the fridge this morning and they’ve leaked raw meat juice all over my notebooks, jeans and signed copy of A Gathering of Shadows 😭

But there is one redeeming feature. It’s Tuesday, and that means it’s time for a fun listy post and hopefully some cheery book chatter to take my mind of the fact that I’m going to walk around the office smelling like a butcher and morning my signed book. So, on with the exciting releases!!

1. Children of Vice and Virtue

I am so excited for this novel 😍 Children of Blood and Bone was simply amazing and I can’t wait to dive back into Zelie and Amari’s world.

2. On the Come Up

I will read anything by Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give was excellent and I can’t wait to dive into her next novel.

3. Priory of the Orange Tree

I’ve put this one on here but I’m not totally sure I’ll read it 😬 it’s just a bit big, and despite loving the author and dragons I don’t know if I can commit to this epic…

4. Paper and Hearts Society

Again, a novel I’m not sure if I’ll read or not, I follow Lucy on Twitter and have seen her get increasingly excited for her novel. Although it’s not something I would normally read, I’ll probably give it a go!

5. Once and Future

This sounds so funny. It’s an Arthurian legend retelling from the perspective of a teenaged girl and the blurb sounds hilarious.

6. Enchantee

I heard about this one from my friend and it sounds amazing. Historical Paris? Yes please.

7. We Hunt the Flames

There’s so much hype about this on Twitter, I think I’ve got secondary hype. It sounds really good and I only hope the people of Twitter are not wrong!

8. Chain of Gold

Another year means another release from Cassandra Clare. I sort of lost touch with the Shadowhunters a little while ago and so many have been published since that I never really caught up. Maybe this will be the release that gets me back into their world?

Lets Compare Notes

So there you have it! A slightly shortened list of 2019 releases I’ll be looking out for. Which releases are you most excited for? Did you make a list? Feel free to share your link or opinion in the comments section! Could use all the book chatter today 😭😭

Review: Caravel by Stefanie …

With the recent release of Legendary, the sequel, I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and polish of Caravel- a novel that screams the enchantment of The Night Circus but is stuffed with more action, adventure and even more plot twists.

This circus-esque novel follows two sisters in their attempts to flee from their abusive father by entering a dangerous yet enchanting game- Caravel, a travelling circus where the main attraction is watching half the audience attempt to solve clues to win a prize. This years prize: a wish.

“He’d heard every person gets one impossible wish—just one—if the person wants something more than anything, and they can find a bit of magic to help them along.“

But when older sister Scarlett enters this mystical game, in the hope of winning the wish and escaping her abusive father, she soon finds the price for playing is higher than she realises and the game more deceptive than she thought.

Caravel is a light and easy to read YA fantasy that hooked me in from page one. With rumours and half truths flying left right and centre, all covered by the dazzle of Caravel, the book is well paced, intriguing and well written. I particularly enjoyed following our guarded main character, Scarlett, as she attempts to make sense of the game that has swallowed her plans and sent her future spiralling out of her grasp.

“Every person has the power to change their fate if they are brave enough to fight for what they desire more than anything”

The descriptions in Caravel are sparse and delicate, one of my few critisms I have of this novel. Each chapter is dotted with intricate detail, as I’d expected, from describing the buttons and bows that adorn Scarlett’s dresses to the strong perfumes of a potion stand. The writer included a lot of finer details to embellish the plotline.

But I was struggling to picture Caravel in all it’s glory. For a girl who has dreamed of visiting the game all her life, Scarlett does very little adventuring of her own. The reader doesn’t get elaborate descriptions of the circus or how others are playing, Scarlett only tries foods when she must and only explores what is required by the plot. The book felt a little short, it could have easily been bulked out with a few more descriptions of the glamouress Caravel and the unimaginable sights that were too often mentioned but not shown without detracting too much from the plot.

However, this is a minor detail. And although the lack of description of Caravel itself annoyed me a bit it does keep the plot quick and fast paced- a feat I know many readers would enjoy. It is gripping and what descriptions there are are certainly not lacking.

“Every touch created colors she had never seen. Colors as soft as velvet and as sharp as sparks that turned into stars.“

Caravel’s plot is as straight forward as the game the novel is named for. As Scarlett second guesses each and every half truth she is told so does the reader, and the confusing mixture of clues our protagonist receives are somewhat difficult to follow and even harder to spot. But with the insistence that Caravel is “only a game” and Scarlett’s tentative nature of second guessing each action or motive the twists and turns embellish a story that is clearly better explained than guessed.

“It’s better this way, sister. There’s more to life than staying safe…”

The sisterly bond between Tella and Scarlett was refreshing in YA. More often do characters act out of romantic love or spite in this genre and it was nice that this novel touched on a new motive. Although we do see Scarlett’s motherly nature towards Tella, a relationship similar to that of Katniss’s and Prim’s, we also see that they are friends and catch glimpses of their childhood where they played games and heard stories together. This adds a soft edge to Scarlett’s otherwise seemingly reserved and nervous character.

I would recommend Caravel to anyone looking for a short, fun read. It’s quick, enchanting, and like the circus, it’s over too quickly.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ /5

Let’s Compare Notes

Have you read Caravel? Do you agree with me? Have you ever read The Night Circus, or anything similar? Would love to hear from you in the comments section!

10 Books by Authors I Love

I am very guilty of buying books by Authors I love. It doesn’t always work *cough*The Casual Vacancy*cough* and you do have to check out the blurb before diving in, but here’s a list of ten books I can’t wait to read by tried and tested authors!

Also please ignore the weird bold thing my phone was doing, it’s a little slow in the morning.

1. Magnus Chase by Rick Riordan

After the second Trials of Apollo I’m sort of going off Rick Riordans books a little bit, I know tragic. But I did enjoy the first Magnus Chase so I might say goodbye to a world I’ve loved for years with this series.

2. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

I don’t know what’s got me wanting to read another series by Cassandra Clare all of a sudden, possibly all the Shadowhunters drama on Twitter recently, but I’m thinking of giving her London series a go. See if it’s as funny as The Mortal Instruments was. Also my phone just corrected that to the mortal insurance and I find that too amusing.

3. Midnight by Derek Landy

Demon Road looked scary and the end Skulduggery was a little stomach churning so it is with great trepidation that I accept the challenge of reading Skulduggerys latest adventure.

4. Children of Blood and Bone 2 by Tomi Adeyemi

As far as I know (but feel free to correct me) it has no name, no release date but is definitely a thing. A thing I really want to read.

5. Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton

Because the more I mention that I will read this the more chance I have of actually picking it up? Maybe? Yep that totally makes sense.

6. Legendary by Stefanie Gaber

I just finished Caravel and my days it was amazzzzing. Can’t wait to read the sequel, which is already out!

7. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

I really loved The Hate U Give and can’t wait to see what she writes next!

8. Priory of an Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Might be because the cover is so pretty and has a DRAGON on it (I very much like dragons) that’s making me want to read this novel. However it is a brick so let’s not take this one too seriously…

9. Vicious by VE Schwab

I’ve been really enjoying her Shades of Magic series and since everyone keeps talking about it on Twitter I really want to give it a read.

10. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I loved The Kite Runner and And The Mountains Echoed so feel like I’d enjoy another of his books. They’re so powerful, emotive and well written, definitely need tissues if I’m going to attempt this one…

Lets Compare Notes

Would love to hear your opinion on my list! Have you ever read any of these gems? Have any suggestions? Who’s your favourite author? Did you do this ttt? Feel free to drop a link or a comment!

Books to Read in Pairs

Like Frappuccino’s and books, everything comes better in twos. Tom and Jerry, Ben and Jerry (lot’s of Jerrys in these iconic duos), Sherlock and Watson, Watson and Crick (there’s a Watson theme now…) garlic bread and pizza, ice cream and flakes (I’m just hungry now) I could go on. So why not books? I’ve been tagged by the wonderful Beth at Reading Every Night to do this quite funny tag all about books that go together **cue Greece Music**

The Hate U Give and To Kill a Mockingbird

Similar themes, both with an important message and narrated in a YA coming of age style. Also they both centre around a court case so yeah a pretty good pairing in my humble opinion. Almost as good as butter and icing sugar…

Caravel and The Night Circus

Do you like mystical games? Do you enjoy scary circus’s and cryptic characters and never really knowing what’s going on? With a dramatic ending to top it all off, accompanied by a sinister back drop? These two would make great shelf buddies.

The Hunger Games and Divergent

Because if you’re a fan of strong female characters, tyrannical governments and rebellions that teeter on the edge of failure then give these both a read. A combo as good as chocolate and raspberry.

Children of Blood and Bone and Skulduggery Pleasant

Both full of funny, confident characters, mystical powers and a girl who has no idea how powerful she is. Lot’s of laughs and quips ensured if you read this duo, as great Nutella and cheese. And yes, that is a thing.

Children of Blood and Bone and Rebel of the Sands

On a similar vein to The Hunger Games, these are stuffed with rebellious teenagers, tyrannical dictatorships, powers no-one quite understands and a writing style that’ll knock your socks off. A great combo in my opinion, almost as good as chips and mayo!

I Tag

Nut Free Nerd (Who loves pairing books in her posts!)

Shealea

Melting Pages (Who recently posted about dynamic duos!)

Aj @ Read All The Things!

Sorry if any of you have done this post before!

Let’s Compare Notes

Have you read any of these books? Do you agree with my picks? Would love to hear from you in the comments!