Month in Review: May 2019

May has been a busy month, but it's also managed to be a great reading month at the same time. Most of the books I read this past month were ones I really enjoyed also and only rated a couple less than four stars. Down Among the Sticks and Bones has become a new favorite, and The Unbound Empire was a stunning, epic conclusion to a highly underrated trilogy. Also, if you haven't checked out the Licanius trilogy (An Echo of Things to Come, which I read this month, is the second book), you absolutely should. The final book comes out this year and it's really an incredible epic fantasy series with some of the best characters.

In non-book news, I don't really have a lot to say! Things seem to be going on as usual in my life, which in all honesty is probably a good thing, haha. We have had a lot of small earthquakes where I am these past few days (1-2s), so let's hope they don't get any bigger! But moving on from all that, let's just jump into the wrap-up!

Anyway, how was your reading month? Did you read any great books? Have you read any of the books I read?

# books read: 13
 

Westside by W.M. Akers  ★★★.5
Source: eARC (NetGalley)

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire ★★★★★
Source: Owned || Format: Hardcover

Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang ★★★★★ 
Source: ARC (Publisher)

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling ★★★★★
Source: Library || Format: Paperback

Inspection by Josh Malerman  ★★★★
Source: Library || Format: Hardcover

The Hunger by Alma Katsu ★★★★
Source: Library|| Format: Hardcover

Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff & Ami Kaufman - ★★
Source: Owned (but probably not for long...) || Format: Hardcover

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry ★★★★★

Source: eARC (NetGalley)

Alice by Christina Henry ★★★★★

Source: Owned || Format: Paperback

The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill ★★★★

Source: Owned || Format: Hardcover

An Echo of Things to Come by James Islington ★★★★★
Source: Owner || Format: Paperback

The Unbound Empire by Melissa Caruso ★★★★★

Source: Review copy (Publisher) || Format: Paperback

DNF:

The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse
Source: ARC (Publisher)
I was so excited for this book, but I just could not get into it and decided to DNF around 300 or so pages in. It wasn't bad at all, but it just didn't feel up to par with Mosse' other work







A Time of Blood (Of Blood and Bone #2) by John Gwynne ★★★★
Westside by W.M. Akers ★★★
Romanov by Nadine Brandes ★★★★
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang ★★★★★
Mini-Review: The Test by Sylvain Neuvel ★★★★
Mini-Review: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire ★★★★★
Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin ★★★★
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling ★★★★★
Under Ordshaw by Phil Williams ★★★★

Month in Review: April 2019

Blog Tour: Spotlight on Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small

Anticipated June 2019 Releases

Top Ten Tuesday:
Characters That Inspire Me
Anticipated 2019 Book-to-Film Adaptations (& A Few I Missed)
Please Don't Touch These Books
Favorite Books Published in the Past Ten Years

Can't-Wait Wednesday:


Lent by Jo Walton and Middlegame by Sean McGuire
The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey & Mythic Journeys edited by Paula Guran
The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse & Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Last Bus to Everland by Sophie Cameron & The Mask Collectors by Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer
Deep River by Karl Marlantes & The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter

The Friday Face-Off:
A Party
A Fantasy Beast

Have you read any of these? What books did you read this month? I hope you all had a great month-- comment below and let me know!

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Review: Under Ordshaw by Phil Williams

Under Ordshaw by Phil Williams
Self-Published
Publication: May 29th, 2018

Ebook. 304 pages.

About Under Ordshaw:

"Welcome to Ordshaw. Don’t look down. Pax is one rent cheque away from the unforgiving streets of Ordshaw. After her stash is stolen, her hunt for the thief unearths a book of nightmares and a string of killers, and she stands to lose much more than her home. 

There’s something lurking under her city. 

Knowing it’s there could get you killed."

I hadn't read an urban fantasy in a while, so I was excited to dip my toes back into the subgenre and see how it went. Under Ordshaw was brought to my attention courtesy of the wonderful TBRindr service started on r/fantasy that helps to connect indie authors with reviewers! When I was asked about reviewing Under Ordshaw, I was really drawn to it for a variety of reasons, the largest of which being how interesting the concept sounded. I love the idea of there being creatures or mysterious unknown things existing beneath a city that is otherwise unknown to its inhabitants and I had a great time exploring that concept in this book.

The underground tunnels were one of my favorite parts of this book and were so fun to explore. I loved learning about the various creatures Williams developed and how he introduced them to the story. His descriptions of the creatures, the underground, and even other characters and settings were really well done and vividly established. As an added bonus, there was never too much in the way of heavy info-dumping, everything was instead introduced and elaborated upon at reasonable points in the narrative and without being excessive. The additional world-building added to incorporate the fantasy elements was strong and I felt firmly grounded in the narrative.

Pax is really a fantastic urban fantasy character. Her personality is highly relatable and she's a rather tough and unafraid person with plenty of street smarts, but she's also not overly cocky in ways that would put her in danger, which I particularly liked. She's a bit headstrong and impulsive at times and certainly makes some mistakes, but these were all sort of done in ways that were understandable rather than frustrating to read about. There are a few other characters we follow throughout the story that consistently bring strong personality and excitement to the narrative as well.

One thing that I liked about the characters in this book was that none of them seemed explicitly good or bad; there was a lot of grey area sprinkled amidst the plot that left me unsure what to really expect from anyone. In turn, this helped to keep me on my toes and constantly wondering what would happen next--and end up reading this book so quickly!

Under Ordshaw is a really fun adventure with a lot of interesting characters (and creatures) thrown in to keep things interesting. I found the major plot thread that ran through the book to be a compelling that I actively cared about and was interested in finding out the conclusion of.

Overall, I've given Under Ordshaw four stars! If you like urban fantasy or are looking to check out something from the genre, this is a perfect book to check out!

*I received a copy of Under Ordshaw in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the novel.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Deep River by Karl Marlantes & The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter

 

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

This week's upcoming book spotlight is: 

Deep River by Karl Marlantes

Publication: July 2nd, 2019

Atlantic Monthly Press

Hardcover. 820 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"Karl Marlantes's debut novel Matterhorn has been hailed as a modern classic of war literature. In his new novel, Deep River, Marlantes turns to another mode of storytelling--the family epic--to craft a stunningly expansive narrative of human suffering, courage, and reinvention. 

In the early 1900s, as the oppression of Russia's imperial rule takes its toll on Finland, the three Koski siblings--Ilmari, Matti, and the politicized young Aino--are forced to flee to the United States. Not far from the majestic Columbia River, the siblings settle among other Finns in a logging community in southern Washington, where the first harvesting of the colossal old-growth forests begets rapid development, and radical labor movements begin to catch fire. The brothers face the excitement and danger of pioneering this frontier wilderness--climbing and felling trees one-hundred meters high--while Aino, foremost of the books many strong, independent women, devotes herself to organizing the industry's first unions. As the Koski siblings strive to rebuild lives and families in an America in flux, they also try to hold fast to the traditions of a home they left behind. 

Layered with fascinating historical detail, this is a novel that breathes deeply of the sun-dappled forest and bears witness to the stump-ridden fields the loggers, and the first waves of modernity, leave behind. At its heart, Deep River is an ambitious and timely exploration of the place of the individual, and of the immigrant, in an America still in the process of defining its own identity."

I read Marlantes' Matterhorn years ago and thought it was wonderful, so I'm really glad he has another book coming out soon. I'm not entirely sure when I'll get to this rather large tome, but I'm certainly looking forward to getting a chance to read it! Deep River has a setting that I haven't read about in many books, so that really piques my interest even more.

and...

The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter

Publication: June 25th, 2019

Harlequin Teen

Hardcover. 544 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"Classic fairy tales are turned on their heads as strong heroines take charge and save the princes and the world in this magical action and romance-filled trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Everlife novels and the White Rabbit Chronicles, beginning with a teen prophesied to become the Evil Queen from Snow White who refuses to be pigenonholed into her destiny. 

Far, far away, in the magical realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm, and fairytales are real. Except, fairytales aren’t based on myths and legends of the past—they are prophecies of the future. 

Raised in the mortal realm, Everly Morrow has no idea she’s a real-life fairy-tale princess—until she manifests an ability to commune with mirrors.

Look. See… What will one peek hurt?

She is destined to be Snow White’s greatest enemy, the Evil Queen. 

With powers beyond her imagination or control—and determined to prove herself good—Everly returns to the land of her birth, smack dab in the middle of the creepiest forest of all time. There, Everly meets Roth Charmaine, the supposed Prince Charming. Their attraction is undeniable, but their relationship is doomed. As bits and pieces of the prophecy unfold, Everly faces one betrayal after the other, and giving in to her dark side proves more tempting every day. Soon, she will have to choose. Be a hero and walk away, or become the queen—and villain—of her dreams."

Fairy tale retellings/inspired stories/etc. are everywhere these days, so it's hard to know which will hits and which will be misses. There's something about the premise for The Evil Queen that really stands out to me and I really look forward to seeing how Showalter switches up some tropes and turns this story into something wholly her own.

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books Published In the Past Ten Years

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blog meme now hosted by Jana over at The Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's topic is: Favorite Books From the Past Ten Years

I really liked the topic for this week! Since we all know I can't make decisions, I decided to share a few of my favorite books from each year from 2009-2019 (so far). Just to be clear, I didn't read all of these books during their publication year (though some, of course, I did), but I'm organizing them by publication date for this week's topic. I had a lot of fun with this to see when some of these were published.

2009:

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami - This was the first Murakami book I ever read and is therefore the book that made me fall completely in love with his writing. I read this during my freshman year of college and it got me through some extremely tough times!

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde - This book is one of my favorite examples of how some books might sit on your shelf for a whie before reading them, but that doesn't mean you won't read them! I bought this sometime int he years before Borders closed and only picked it up about two years ago to read--and I loved it! 

Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente

2010:

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee - I cannot recommend this book enough. It's dubbed a "biography of cancer" and it really is. It has a compelling narrative and I think anyone could find it interesting, but it would be especially enlightening to anyone who knows/has known someone with cancer. Since both of my parents had cancer (and a few other people I know), this was one of the most interesting nonfiction books I've read.

2011:

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss - I know most prefer The Name of the Wind to The Wise Man's Fear, but I also really enjoyed this sequel (yes, even with the Felurian bits!). I'm as anxious as everyone else for the third and final book, but I'm also content to wait for it so it can be as perfect and wonderful as Rothfuss wants it to be. 

2012:

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson - I think this was somewhat popular when it came out (?), but I missed the hype trian and read it a few years later and absolutely adored it.

2013:

Colorless Tsukuru and His Years of Pilgrimmage by Haruki Murakami - This one got mixed reviews, but I thought it was a really thought-provoking and intersting read. I love the 'quietness' of Murakami's books and I felt this one embodied that well.

Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates

2014:

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber - This is so weird and so good!

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington - This is a severely underrated trilogy!

The Thickety: A Path Begins by J.A. White

Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes - This is the first of three Alice in Wonderland-inspired stories on this list and it was one with a take I really enjoyed!

2015:

The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French

Alice by Christina Henry - I just recently (finally) read this and loved it. So dark and twisted, but entirely perfect at the same time.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

2016:

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff - I read an ARC of this in 2016 and I guess the rest was history! I am so in love with this trilogy so far and it was my first introduction to Jay Kristoff as well, so I'm certainly pleased with the year 2016. 

Heartless by Marissa Meyer - This is one of my all-time favorite Alice-inspired stories and I just love it so much.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas - Everyone who's read this trilogy knows that ACOMAF was the best book of the trilogy and I really can't argue with that.

2017:

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne - This was my first introduction to Joyn Boyne! I am officially in love with his writing and have enjoyed other books by him since reading this one.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire - I just read this a couple weeks ago and it was utterly perfect. I really should have gotten around to it in 2017, but better late than enver!

The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark - I definitely picked this one up because of the hype around the writing style and it completely lvied up to my expectations. I've been loving this series and can't wait for the final book in the trilogy to come out this year!

Lost Boy by Christina Henry - This was my introduction to Christina Henry and I have since read The mermaid, Alice, and The Girl in Red and absolutely loved them all. I'm hoping to read more of Christina Henry's backlist because so far she has done me no wrong and I love her books so much.

2018:

Master Assassins by Robert V.S. Redick 

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

Vita Nostra by Sergei & Marya Dyachenko - If you like weird fantasy that will stretch your mind in unexpected ways, this is for you!

The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale
Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

2019:

The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky - I love this book so much, I would probably die for it. It's incredible and there's no doubt it will make it to my best of the year post next January.

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden - This was one of the most perfect and satisfying conclusions to any trilogy or serioes I've ever read.