YA Bookish Buzz: February 14 - 20, 2016

Here's a quick recap of what you missed in the YA book world last week!

New Releases

Cover Reveals

Epic Reads shared a bunch of covers for upcoming 2016 releases. Check out the links below and get ready for some serious cover lust!

Epic Reads Fall 2016 Cover Reveals Day 1

Epic Reads Fall 2016 Cover Reveals Day 2

Aerie by Maria Dahvana Headley

Like a River Glorious by Rae Carson

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

We can't stop staring at the gorgeous cover for Sara Raasch's final book in the Snow Like Ashes trilogy, Frost Like Night! Want to know more about what went on behind the scenes in creating this stunning cover? Check out THIS interview with the cover designers!

We are also in love with the cover to the last book in Claudia Gray's Firebird Trilogy, A Million Worlds With You. Curious to know what Gray thinks about the cover? Read her thoughts HERE!

 Teasers

Check out this really cool trailer for Alwyn Hamilton's fantasy debut, Rebel of the Sands and get a sneak peek at the first two chapters! U.S. release is on March 8th.

Book Trailer: Rebel of the Sands

PenguinTeen: Rebel of the Sands Chapters 1-2


Tomorrow is the release of The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury. It is a retelling of Aladdin. Intrigued? Get started on reading the first two chapters!

PenguinTeen: The Forbidden Wish Chapters 1-2

Want to know more about the characters of The Forbidden Wish? Khoury made a series of post last week on her Tumblr introducing readers to them.

Meet Zahara

Meet Aladdin

Meet Caspida

Meet The Watchmaidens

Maggie Hall hosted a Twitter party to promote, Map of Fates, the sequel to The Conspiracy of Us. She shared some really great quotes!

Book Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (BVR) 

Publication Date: June 5th, 2015 

Genre: Fantasy 

Pages: 358 pages

Summary: The Kingdom of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a darkness with strange monsters. Alina Starkov is an orphan who has been living in a relatively safe environment with her best friend, Mal. Together they discover that there’s more to Alina than meets the eye. After discovering Alina’s mysterious ability they travel to the royal court. Here she is trained with The Grisha and nothing is as it seems. The Grisha, a magical elite possess special powers and are led by the mysterious Darkling. As the Shadow Fold grows, an entire kingdom depends on Alina’s untamed power. Will she be able to conquer her fears and control her power? This is the first installment in Bardugo’s fantastic Grisha Trilogy.

Review:

This epic fantasy adventurous book is not to be missed! If you haven’t read this series make sure you get your hands on Shadow and Bones as soon as possible. This book is set in a wonderful fantasy kingdom that will leave you wanting more.

Shadow and Bone is an interesting and entertaining read which is uniquely different to other books in this genre. Bardugo writes her characters in a fascinating way that leaves you guessing and questioning her motives. The central characters in this book are flawed but experience personal growth in remarkable ways. By the end of this book our main character is stronger, more fierce, and determined to do the right thing no matter what the cost. This book allows the reader to connect with Alina on many personal levels. Her journey is an important one that people of all ages can face during their life time. The important aspect that can be learned from this book is to learn how to believe in and love yourself. The feelings of dealing with self-blame and letting go of your fear is a main theme in this book.

The world building and the plot in this book are very well thought out and written. Although, at times it is confusing separating the different categories of Grisha. The plot twists are excellently crafted into the story without giving away any clues. This story has a medium paced plot and it naturally develops on its own effectively.

Overall, Shadow and Bone is worth reading because of the characters and its interesting plot. The relationships between Alina, Mal, the Grisha and the Darkling are the strongest aspects of the novel.

Rating: 4 out 5 Stars

Reviewer: @fzkhann

YA Bookish Buzz: February 7-13, 2016

It was another busy week of news in the YA book world!

New Releases

Honorable mention for the PAPERBACK version of An Ember in the Ashes.

Cover Reveals

Harper Collins posted a picture of the third book in Danielle Paige's Dorothy Must Die series, Yellow Brick Road. Expected release is March 15, 2016.

Last year Shadowhunter fans were treated to 10 e-novellas chronicling Simon Lewis' journey to Ascension. On November 15, those novellas - Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy - will be available to purchase in book form. 

Good news for Harry Potter fans! The 8th book in the infamous series, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, will be released on July 31st!!

Teasers

Get excited The Wrath and the Dawn fans!! Bustle revealed an exclusive excerpt of the upcoming e-novella The Crown and the Arrow! This one is told from our tortured hero Khalid's perspective. It's set for release March 1st and will be FREE! Check out the excerpt HERE!

Epic Reads Facebook page shared the prologue and four chapters of the upcoming Snow White retelling, The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine. 

The Shadow Queen PROLOGUE

The Shadow Queen Chapters 1 - 4

Curious about the last installment of the The Young Elites trilogy? Amazon posted a summary to The Midnight Star! 

The Midnight Star SUMMARY

In honor of the The Midnight Star summary, Marie Lu posted another quote.

Entertainment Weekly shared a book trailer and excerpt for Veronica Rossi's new fantasy series, Riders.

BOOK TRAILER: Riders

EXCERPT Riders

News

Marissa Meyer has been on tour promoting Stars Above, a Lunar Chronicles novella collection. At one of the tour stops, Meyer revealed that her popular fairytale retelling series has been optioned for film or TV! 

YA Bookish Buzz: February 1-6, 2016

Here's the latest news in the YA book world!

New Releases

Cover Reveals

Check out this wildly colorful cover for Tahereh Mafi's new middle grade novel,  Furthermore. Entertainment Weekly chatted with the author to find out more about this new project. You can read the interview HERE. It is set for release August 30, 2016. 

Teasers

Penguin Teen was kind enough to share a preview of Richelle Mead's new series, The Glittering Court. Check out the lengthy excerpt HERE.

Penguin Teen also shared the first two chapters of The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury. You can read that HERE.

News

It was an exciting week for Lunar Chronicles fans. First, there was the release of Stars Above, the Lunar Chronicles novella collection that includes a highly anticipated epilogue to Winter. Marissa Meyer was on tour promoting the new release. Then, Meyer announced that she will be writing graphic novels that continue the stories of our favorite Lunar Chronicles characters! The first graphic novel is titled, Wires and Nerves, and will be from Iko's point of view. We'll have to wait to read these as release is set for January 2017. Full announcement HERE.

Erin Bowman will be writing a companion novel to her YA western story, Vengeance Road, titled Retribution Rails. Tentative release date is Fall 2017. Bowman answers a few questions about her new project HERE.

We're a little bit closer to finding out the release date for The Last Star. Rick Yancey shared this quote and date on Twitter.

And finally, some good news for book nerds that are eager to read Roshani Chokshi's debut novel, The Star-Touched Queen. Griffin Teen has pushed up the release date to April 26, 2016. 

Book Review: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Book Review: The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Genre: Romance/Dystopian
Pages: 402 pages

Summary: Kestrel endures her engagement to the crown prince of Valoria and struggles to keep the truth of her deal with the Emperor a secret from Arin. Meanwhile, a broken-hearted Arin refuses to give up on Kestrel and remains determined to be a good leader to the Herrani despite the obstacles thrown his way by the Emperor.

Review: 

The Winner’s Crime picks up soon after the events of The Winner’s Curse. Kestrel is now living in the palace as the fiancé of the heir to the Valorian Empire, Prince Verex. This is a nice change of setting for the story because we are introduced to new characters and it allows for more world building. The new setting also gives Kestrel a different perspective on things which is interesting to read. Kestrel isn’t happy with her self-created situation but is trying to make the best of it. 

Back in Herran, Arin is having a really rough time being a good leader to his people. The Emperor may have granted their freedom but he is making them pay for it. He’s charging them exorbitant taxes and taking most of their food supply as payments. This leaves the Herrani poor, hungry, destitute, and very sick. On top of all this stress, Arin is dealing with a broken heart courtesy of Kestrel’s engagement to Prince Verex. But throughout the story he isn’t willing to accept that things are over between him and Kestrel. Against all odds he continues to fight for her and convince her to give him another chance. 

My favorite aspect of The Winner’s Trilogy are the characters of Kestrel and Arin. I loved getting to know them in The Winner’s Curse and I enjoyed the build up of their relationship. In The Winner’s Crime, Kestrel and Arin spend most of their time apart. I actually didn’t mind this because it gave Kestrel and Arin an opportunity for individual character growth without the immediate influence of the other. They each had to learn to find their own solutions to their obstacles. When they do interact, their dynamic is filled with angst, longing, and intensity. Their chemistry still burns up the pages and it’s clear they love one another, but circumstances and Kestrel’s stubborn refusal to tell Arin the truth keep them apart. While I understand why Kestrel won’t admit the truth, it is very frustrating that Arin can’t figure it out for himself. There are moments where he gets close to figuring it out or Kestrel is about to tell him but something always prevents the truth from being known. Rutkoski seems determined to keep Arin in the dark until the final book, The Winner’s Kiss. I’m still rooting for these two to have their happily ever after. They so deserve it.

I really like the addition of political machinations and intrigue that occur in the Valorian government as a plot point. This raises the stakes for all the characters about who to trust and where loyalties lie. We get an up close and personal look at how this plays out through Kestrel. The Emperor is eager to mold Kestrel into a great empress and invites her opinion on political matters and war strategy. Even though the Emperor may have ulterior motives, he does genuinely value and respect Kestrel’s ideas. 

There is a mystery woven throughout the story that involves Kestrel. It’s not a surprising choice for her but a very dangerous one. The way the mystery unravels at the end will surprise readers and Kestrel’s outcome will leave you with your jaw hitting the floor. 

The Winner’s Crime did suffer from similar pacing issues like its predecessor. It doesn’t take long to engage in the story because the characters are already familiar to you but it does slow down at certain points. I wanted to see more pro-activeness on the characters part to develop the plot instead of them waiting for the plot to happen. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this sequel. It’s a great character driven story that expands on the world building and continues the thread of forbidden romance between Kestrel and Arin. I’m even more emotionally invested in these characters than before and a happy ending for them is a must! Can’t wait to read the last book in the trilogy, The Winner’s Kiss, coming out March 29th.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Reviewer: @perusingya (Amna)