Five Authors I Have on Auto-Read

You have them, you know you do. Authors whose books you crave. Authors whose books you go to the bookstore for on release day. Or, even better, wait impatiently for by the mailbox because you ordered it months before. Authors you have on auto-read. Here are the authors I auto-read, and why I MUST HAVE THEIR NEWEST BOOK AS SOON AS IT RELEASES. (Yes, all those caps are necessary.)
 

 

Ally Carter

 

Ever since I got my hands on Heist Society, Ally Carter has been on auto-read for me. That series was just so me (not that I’m Robin Hood or anything), but Kat and Hale and ugh! It’s like Ocean’s Eleven for teens, but so much better. Plus, I’ve read and enjoyed Gallagher Girls. I rarely pre-order books (bad, Jamie!) but I did pre-order All Fall Down (signed edition!) and it was so worth it! I can’t wait for more Heist Society novels and the sequel to All Fall Down!

 

 

Gayle Forman

I realized as I was making this list that I’ve read all of Forman’s novels. Honestly, I was surprised. I consider Just One Day and Just One Year two of my favorites (definitely my favorites of her collection) and even though I don’t fangirl over her as much as some authors, Forman is a consistently great author. I know when I pick up a Forman novel (just as I did recently with I Was Here) that it will be a thought-provoking, soul-searching journey, and I love that about her.

 

Sarah J. Maas

Celeana. Chaol. Dorian. If you haven’t read the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, you must. This series is enthralling. You will read it fervently. The characters will make you gasp, laugh and cry. Oh, what I’d give to have Queen of Shadows, the fourth book that comes out this fall, in my hands. Also, my desire for A Court of Thorns and Roses haunts my soul daily. (I just pre-ordered it yesterday!)

 

 

Rainbow Rowell

I’ve read every single book that Rainbow Rowell has published, which is rare for me since her novels are all stand-alones. Eleanor & Park was my first Rowell adventure, and that impressed me so much I read an ADULT FICTION NOVEL. Whaaaaat? I know. I read Attachments, and loved it. I held off on Fangirl for a while because I knew it would be THE ONE for me. But I did eventually read it and I was right, it's my favorite Rowell so far! Then I read Landline (another adult fiction novel!) last summer. You can bet that I’ll be reading Carry On shortly after its release!

 

J.K. Rowling

I mean, duh. Harry Potter is the end-all be-all, and even though J.K. Rowling has yet to impress me following Deathly Hallows, I will read everything she publishes. Yes, I read Casual Vacancy and ehh. Yes, I read The Cuckoo’s Calling and was mildly intrigued. I haven’t yet read The Silkworm, but I will. Rowling writes across genres, and I’m ready for something science fiction. Or solidly YA. (Squeee!)

 

What authors do you have on auto-read?

 

Ten Book Related Problems I Have

It’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday! Yes, yes, I know it’s Sunday. But I post on Sundays and this way I’m prepared for Tuesday, once it rolls around. Anyway, TTT is a great thing hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic: Ten Book Related Problems I Have. As they say, more books, more problems…
 

1.     Too Many Books

There are too many books to read!!! I’m not complaining about how many books there are in publication, or how many I own. I’m just saying I’ll never be able to read all the books I want to, and that scares me. It scares me to my very core.

2.     Not Enough Time

Stupid work. Okay, I’m exaggerating, I like my job. But working 40 hours a week and writing and boyfriend time, well, it really infringes on my reading time.

3.     Reading as an Editor

I’m not an editor by trade, but I am writing/editing my own book and sometimes I catch myself editing as I’m reading a book that’s not my own! Ugh.

4.     Protecting my books/nook

Water is an ever-present danger, mostly when I’m in the bath. Reading in the bath is relaxing, but sometimes I fear dropping my book. And of course, if I’m reading something on my nook, I don’t take it into the bath—that's far too risky!

5.     Space

I have hundreds of books. I have three bookshelves, at least seven bins of books, books at my parent’s house, books stacked in random places on my desk, nightstand, a small shelf here, there and everywhere! I shove books in any available space, and someday I may run out of space. L

6.     Waiting

Books have release dates, and sometimes it’s torture waiting for them!

7.     Love Squares

Anything more than a love triangle really pisses me off. (To put it delicately.) I’ve only seen a few, but seriously, a love square? A love octagon? Too much.

8.     Shotty World-Building

I’m a fantasy reader, and nothing turns me off like a world that isn’t fully-formed, or one that doesn't make sense. World-building takes time and effort, as I'm discovering while writing my own fantasy novel.

9.     Inability to Sacrifice

Character death is hard to write and to read, but unfortunately it’s realistic. When an author can’t part with their characters, when the happily ever after seems a little too happy, it alienates me pretty quickly.

10.   Haters

Haters gonna hate, but I’m convinced that fellow readers shouldn’t get down on each other for what they read. No matter if it’s Twilight, 50 Shades, or even Jonathan Franzen. If you read, you’re cool with me!

 

What are some of your book related problems?

 

The Red Queen and her Silver Lining

Recently I’ve been overwhelmed by the sea of new fantasies. So many amazing books are coming out the next few months—debuts, series beginnings, series continuations. It’s almost too much for me to handle! But in the midst of it all, there are a few that stand out, and Red Queen is one of those books. The concept is creative and the tension high, so I was thrilled to find myself in possession of an ARC of this lovely title and with just enough time to read it before it comes out Tuesday!

Red Queen

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard—a growing Red rebellion—even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

 

My Thoughts

Red Queen is eloquent and fantastical with an intricate and interesting world. It tells the story of one girl, Mare, who's different, and what that means in her world, the land of Norta, where those with Red blood serve those with Silver blood.

Instead of diving into the story the moment Mare learns she’s different, Aveyard builds the world around Mare’s life. We learn about Mare's family—her three brothers who were conscripted into the King’s war, her younger sister who’s going to be a seamstress, her mother’s sorrow and her father’s war injury. Mare herself has made peace with the fact that she’s going to war, until a meeting with a mysterious stranger changes her course. This is world-building at its finest. Even though Aveyard doesn’t jump right to the moment Mare discovers she’s different from her friends and family, the seventy pages before that moment aren’t boring in the least. Plenty happens, including First Friday, in which we learn that those with Silver blood have powers like enhanced strength and the ability to control minds.

“The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.” –page 11

The moment everything changes is a big one, and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, actually I rather enjoy wetting your appetite for this amazing and powerful scene. Mare’s ability, witnessed by many Silvers, becomes the means by which the King of Norta blackmails her. From this point on, I couldn’t put Red Queen down! Mare’s strong and stubborn, and the fact that she’s strung between the King and the rebel group, the Scarlet Guard, meant I needed to know what happened. The intrigue and tension only got higher and better as the book continued! Plus, Aveyard's words are full of imagery. There were so many descriptions and metaphors that popped, making me love her style of writing.

Then there are the boys. Prince Cal is destined to be King, and while he’s loyal to his father, he has a soft spot for Mare. Prince Maven, Cal’s younger brother, is now betrothed to Mare, and even though she doesn’t feel connected to him at first, she gradually comes to realize they have a lot in common. And that’s not all! Kilorn, Mare’s childhood friend, was once an innocent apprentice to a fisherman, but now he’s joined the rebellion, and Mare can’t protect him anymore. Aveyard is setting up a killer love story, as well as a killer fantasy trilogy!

“I’m a Red girl in a sea of Silvers and I can’t afford to feel sorry for anyone, least of all the son of a snake.” –page 106

Red Queen comes out this Tuesday, February 10th, and I recommend it if you love intricate storylines, lovely descriptions and fantastical fantasies! Just remember, “anyone can betray anyone.”

 

 

Futuristic Fairy Tales: Marissa Meyer in Cincinnati

Yesterday Marissa Meyer, author of the Lunar Chronicles series, was in Cincinnati! She visited the amazing Joseph-Beth Books, who threw a Lunar Ball in honor of the release of Fairest, Queen Levana’s story.

Fairest

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told... until now.

 



My Thoughts

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to like Fairest. (Spoiler alert: I loved it!) A tale from the point-of-view of an evil queen? I didn’t need her back story to dislike her. The first three books of the Lunar Chronicles had already proven to me she’s not a nice person. But as I read, I came to realize that Levana’s story is important. It gives her dimension, though not a flattering one. In sharing what happened to Levana before we met Cinder, Meyer emphasizes that it wasn’t in Levana’s nature to be an evil queen, but it was how she was nurtured (or the lack of nurturing) that transformed her into the villain of the story. Levana suffered from the fact that her parents didn’t care for her, and then were assassinated when she was sixteen years old. Levana suffered from her older sister, Channary’s torment, the details of which are divulged in the book. Fairest doesn’t have a main character we root for, but it gave us a villain to root against. I recommend it to all fans of fairy tales, villians and of course, the Lunar Chronicles!

 

The Event!

First order of business: THE RUMORS ARE TRUE! Winter will be over 800 pages! Shortly after Marissa came out (to clapping and cheering), she shared with us that she finished writing Winter just last week! This is, of course, thrilling news and November can’t come soon enough because I need to know what happens to Cinder, Scarlet, Cress and I’m excited to dive into Winter’s story.

But I got a little ahead of myself... Last night, the Lunar Ball kicked off at 6PM, with two games of trivia and a costume contest. Joseph-Beth Booksellers went the extra mile to welcome Marissa and readers to the event. I grabbed a trivia packet, which included a word search, crossword and code-breaking game that used Fairest to decipher a secret sentence. After using my exceptional skill (this is where sarcasm font would come in handy) and my copies of the books, I won a small Lunar Chronicles gift bag with two postcards, two stickers, a bookmark and a button. Swag is the best!

The event got underway when Marissa Meyer joined us to judge the costume contest. Cheers to all those who dressed up—I saw some amazing Queen Levana, Scarlet, Cress and Cinder costumes as well as some generally fancy folks! Marissa talked a little bit about Fairest, and how the story came to be. Then she shared a special excerpt from Winter, one that isn’t in the three chapter preview at the end of Fairest! I’m not going to spoil it, but let’s just say that Jacin might not be quite the heartless jerk that he’s been portrayed as so far…

Talking to the crowd!

 

After reading the excerpt, Marissa answered some questions for the crowd. She’s an expert question-answerer by the way—it was quick-fire and she probably got through twenty-five questions in twenty minutes while still giving satisfying answers. Marissa talked about how the series came to be (she wrote a Puss in Boots short story set in the future then had a dream where instead of losing her slipper, Cinderella’s whole foot fell off—she’s a cyborg!). Marissa talked movie rights (which sold a few years ago, and last she heard they were working on a script 18 months ago) and that she would love to see Emma Watson play Scarlet in the movie version (which would be a dream come true!). Marissa also shared what she’s working on in the future! In 2016, she’s releasing Heartless, a prequel to Alice in Wonderland focused on the Queen of Hearts and how she got a proclivity for beheading. Marissa’s also working on a trilogy about superheroes, super villains and the gray areas in between. Umm, can I have all five books (Winter, Heartless and the hero trilogy) now please?

Of course, even though members of the crowd asked, Marissa didn’t divulge any Winter spoilers—we don’t know how it will end or if anyone dies but she did say, unfortunately, that “it’s a revolution and sometimes people die in revolutions.” Nooooo!

Then came the signing!

Check out the gorgeous backdrop!

 

Marissa and me!

 

My lovelies.

 

Signed copy of Fairest plus swag!

 

Thanks Marissa for writing the Lunar Chronicles, coming to the Midwest and generally being awesome!

 

Disclaimer: This post is an unofficial account of the event with Marissa Meyer on January 31, 2015 at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, OH. The views that I present in this post are my interpretations of the event, and they do not necessarily represent the opinions of Marissa Meyer, her publisher or any affiliates.

I Was Here with Hope and Tears

Gayle Forman has a new book coming out this Tuesday! *squeals* I managed to grab an ARC of I Was Here and I devoured it within 24 hours. Cody’s journey is internal, heartfelt and tearful, and I adored it from first page to last.

 

I Was Here

When her best friend, Meg, drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, and some secrets of his own. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

 

My Thoughts

I Was Here is a deep, dark journey on the path of grief. Cody lost her best friend, Meg, and she has no explanation for why Meg decided to commit suicide. After finding something suspicious on Meg's laptop, Cody dives into a suicide mystery that takes her into the abyss of her soul.

I won’t dive deeper into my thoughts on Cody's journey because spoilers, but I do want to say that I cried at the end. There was a moment that Cody’s mom played a pivotal role, and it just reminded me so much of something my parents did for me once. The scene struck a chord with me, which reminded me that Forman’s writing is realistic. Suicide is a hard topic to tackle, yet Forman writes about its aftermath without romanticizing or justifying the act itself. She tackles it head-on, managing to be honest without being upsetting.

Then there’s Ben. I like Ben. A lot. He’s layered (as are all of Forman’s characters) and imperfect. He’s troubled in his own right, and affected by Meg’s death as he was one of her friends from her first semester of college. When Cody goes to Meg's college to collect her belongings, she meets Ben. They can’t seem to interact without sarcasm or yelling or general disdain but grief will do that to people. Yet, Cody and Ben keep meeting up, and they start getting to know one another as Cody explores the circumstances of Meg's death.

As I read the last page of I Was Here, I was struck by the novel’s poignancy, its strength and the resounding hope. I’m baffled by and thankful for its truth. It ended with hope and tears, which is how the best books end.

 

My #IWasHere Moment

I’ve been some places. I haven’t been around the world, but I have been around Western Europe. I always thought Mont Saint-Michel was incredible, however unreachable. But when I studied abroad in Belgium, our group took a trip to this out-of-the-way island town on the French coast.

 

Sometimes when I look back, I still can't believe that #IWasHere.

 

Share your #IWasHere moments below!

 

Seven Authors to Read if You Love The Maze Runner

A couple weekends ago, I finally watched The Maze Runner! It has non-stop action, gasp-worthy thrills and a cliffhanger that makes me want to read the rest of the series. (I read TMR in 2009.) In short, I loved it! The Scorch Trials (which is filming now) is on my TBR pile, along with the rest of the series. But with so many people diving into The Maze Runner, it got me thinking about authors and books to read after finishing book. Here are some of my suggestions:

 

Joelle Charbonneau
 

When Cia gets chosen for The Testing, she realizes it’s not the straight-forward program for future leaders that she thought it was. This trilogy has a strong female lead, moments of astonishing terror and threads of romance. The Testing is followed by Independent Study and Graduation Day, and is an exciting dystopian trilogy!

 
 

James Dashner

What better to read after The Maze Runner than the rest of the series? Okay, so this may be cheating a bit, but after finishing The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure are the logical next step. The prequel The Kill Order and Dashner’s other series Eye of Minds, should be on the list too! The latter is a technological thriller, where Michael is a gamer and a hacker.  

 

 

 

Michael Grant

In the span of a moment, all the adults disappear. Phones stop working; there’s no internet or television. Just teenagers remain, and they can’t figure out what happened. This is the premise of Gone, which begins a six book series that’s reminiscent of Lord of the Flies. Grant has two other thrilling series, BZRK and one that began a few months ago: Messenger of Fear.

 

 

 

Emmy Laybourne

Fourteen kids ranging from elementary age to high schools are trapped inside a superstore during a series of escalating disasters. With apocalypse banging down the door, this trilogy is an exhilarating tale of survival and adventure with a monster cliffhanger that will make you want to dive into the rest of the trilogy, Sky on Fire and Savage Drift, right away.



 

Marie Lu

In a future where the United States is split into two, June is a prodigy and Day is a wanted criminal. Their paths cross, of course, and the results are action-packed. The trilogy is one of my favorite dystopians! I have yet to read The Young Elites, but it’s on my TBR list!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neal Shusterman

After America’s Second Civil War, Unwinding is a common practice. Children between age thirteen and eighteen can be unwound, meaning all their organs are transplanted to various recipients. Conner, Risa and Lev are runaway Unwinds whose paths intersect. With death on the line, issues of morality are tested in the Unwind Quartet. Shusterman has many other series and books worth diving into as well.

 

 

 

Rick Yancey

Alien invasion doesn’t exactly equal dystopian future, but something that’s vital to Thomas’ story in The Maze Runner is his ability to survive, which runs deep in Cassie’s story. Cassie’s survived four waves of the alien invasion, but now she’s on her own, searching for her brother, as The Fifth Wave begins. A movie version is coming in just over a year, and the sequel, The Infinite Sea, was released over the summer.

 

 

 

What authors and books do you recommend for fans of The Maze Runner?

The Bright Places of Life

Shortly after the new year, I dived into my first read of 2015: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven! This book is getting a lot of buzz because it's powerful, deals with real issues and is a natural read for anyone who loves The Fault in Our Stars.

 

All the Bright Places

The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
 
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

 

My Thoughts

Finch and Violet meet atop a clock tower one school day. Finch is quirky, individualistic and unlike anyone I've ever known (in a good way). I fell in love with him in the first few chapters! Violet is more wrapped within herself. She's removed (due to grief) but she's smart and honest. Even though it took a bit longer, I really connected with her personality. From their first fateful meeting, they're tied together.  

In the only class they have together, Finch and Violet are assigned a semester-long project to wander Indiana. The travel to Hoosier Hill and many other unusual, hidden sites of Indiana. I have to admit that learning about the intricacies of Indiana was one of the great aspects about this book for me! Another thing I loved about All the Bright Places is that Germ Magazine is an actual website! It's just like Violet brainstormed in the book, and so much more. There are sections on life, love and lit. Also there’s a Be Lovely section, and one on Bright Places. Seriously, this site is one of my new favorite things!

All the Bright Places deals with suicide, mental illness, abuse, bullying and loss. That's a lot of tough stuff for one YA novel, but Niven writes Finch and Violet and their interwoven experiences with a measured, knowing hand. The issues are dealt with in an honest fashion, and are not diluted or side-stepped. Finch and Violet's experiences widened my worldview and I'm grateful that I could dive into their heart-breaking yet hopeful story.

And I'm so glad that All the Bright Places was my first read of 2015!

My Bright Places

Bright Places are small, simple things that make one happy on a daily basis. They're places traveled--real or imagined--and loved. They're people who brighten the everyday. All the Bright Places made me think about life in a new way and helped me recognize my own Bright Places! Here are some of them: 

 

Amelia Island, Florida

 

Reading by the pool

 

The Irish Coast

 

Holidays at my parents house

 

Exploring Indy

 Planes landing at night

Peppermint tea

Singing on my commute (usually to T Swift)

Working with books

Reading books

Writing books

Loving books

Have you read All the Bright Places? If so, what did you think? If not, I highly recommend it! What are some of your Bright Places? Let me know in the comments!