Wow, it's been a really long time since I did a recap post. In October, I wrote a book talk, but I didn't even mention my blog posts. The last time I did a recap, then, was in September! So much has happened here on the blog, I've read so many books and gone to some great book launches, and I've received and purchased quite a few books as well!

Ah, well. This post was supposed to go up two weeks ago, along with a video that I had recorded in the usual recap way. :/ But basically I'm still trying to catch up with the posts that were scheduled for my time off but didn't go up.

 

On the blog, I have been maintaining my bookish rounds posts, which are round-ups of the latest MG/YA/NA book news in terms of book deals, cover reveals, discussions in the book community, tv and movie adaptations, and new YA releases. Since September, you'll findedition 88, edition 89, edition 90, edition 91, edition 92, edition 93, edition 94, edition 95,edition 96, edition 97, edition 98, edition 99, and edition 100. And, in fact, in terms of the book news, I gathered half of last year's adaptation news for a round-up post, and I made a calendar with 2016 Adaptations relevant to the YA community, so we could keep track of them. I discussed Mockingjay Part II, my New Year's Bookolutions for 2016, 2016 YA Debuts on my TBR list, 2016 YA Books (Non Debuts) on my TBR list, blogging and booktubing, the effect of awards in the YA community, my reading profile, reader loyalty, and 5 fantasy authors who I fangirl over. I reviewed Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith, the Eon duology by Alison Goodman, the Mapmaker's trilogy by S.E. Grove, Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, and The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows, and gushed about my Epic Reads Book Shimmy Award Nominations and the best books that I'd read in 2015. I also asked for read-along buddies, and answered 15 weird questions about myself so that y'all could get to know me better.

Fall 2015 & Winter 2016, I didn't blog or booktube more frequently because in the fall, I’d been applying to graduate schools, and then there were the holiday breaks (aka laziness at home), and throughout February, I had a bunch a few graduate school interviews to attend (aka why you didn't hear from me much on social media then either). Maybe one day soon, I'll have actual big news to celebrate on that account. (Pray for me! Cross your fingers! Whatever you do.). In January, I attended the book launches for Truthwitch by Susan Dennard/Passenger by Alex Bracken and This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp. I appreciated Marieke’s discussion on how the story was inspired, in part, by a yellow school bus, and the discussion of American gun culture vs. in the Netherlands. I appreciated the easy banter between Susan and Alex, and their personable approach to describing their writing styles and their experiences (e.g. researching ships in the eighteenth century). I loved how both events were moderated by other YA authors as well (Sona Charaipotra (Dhonielle Clayton was supposed to be there but I forget what happened) and Erin Bowman). And I ended up purchasing all three books for the book launches, as well as books by the author hosts. Here's to hoping grad school fares well too, so that I can say the season was an all around success :D.

 

In terms of what I've read this past fall and winter.... oh, what a varied list. I’m going to just list them out, and say a few things at the end!

Middle Grade:

1. The Golden Specific - S.E. Grove (review here).

Young Adult:

1. Passenger - Alexandra Bracken (review here)
2. Dreamstrider - Lindsay Smith (review here)
3. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
4. Eon - Alison Goodman (review here)
5. Eona - Alison Goodman
6. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Newt Scamander
7. All of Rosamund Hodge's listed short stories.
8. The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
9. Vengeance Road - Erin Bowman
10. Glory O'Brien's History of the Future - A.S. King, audio
11. A Creature of Moonlight - Rebecca Hahn
12. Wink Poppy Midnight - April Genevieve Tucholke (review to come!)
13. The Star-Touched Queen - Roshani Chokshi (review to come!)

Adult Romance:

1. Wallbanger - Alice Clayton
2. Rusty Nailed - Alice Clayton
3. Screwdrivered - Alice Clayton
4. Mai Tai'd Up - Alice Clayton
5. A Lady of Persuasion - Tessa Dare
6. Goddess of the Hunt - Tessa Dare
7. Surrender of a Siren - Tessa Dare
8. The Rogue Not Taken - Sarah MacLean
9. A Gentleman in the Street - Alisha Rai
10. Once Upon a Marquess - Courtney Milan

Adult Fantasy

1. Feverborn - Karen Marie Moning
2. Captive Prince - C.S. Pacat
3. Prince's Gambit - C.S. Pacat
4. Kings Rising - C.S. Pacat

Nonfiction:

1. The Silk Road: A Short Introduction - James A. Millward.
2. The Madame Curie Complex - Julie Des Jardins
3. Bossypants - Tina Fey, audio
4. Yes Please - Amy Poehler, audio

What’s the deal with all the romance novels? Well, I’ve mentioned this before, but I share my Kindle account with my mother. You’d think this means she’d be more willing to read YA novels—alas, those are all just mine. Anyway, she loves contemporary and historical romance. The majority of the romance novels I read this past fall/winter, I read when I was at home with her. Usually when we’re together I remember that oh shit, I’m supposed to buy more romance novels for her to read. But it doesn’t feel right to just buy her anything out there – in some ways, I get caught too because then I want to make sure I’ve gotten her books that she’ll like. Like Alice Clayton. I read Alice Clayton’s book because I’d posted her cover reveal sometime ago, and I remembered writing that this was a new NA series for her, or she was continuing on Wallbanger, and it was pretty popular. So I tried the books out – I liked them, and my mom loved them. My mom also loves Tessa Dare, and Sarah MacLean and Courtney Milan are automatic pre-orders for her as well.

The young adult and middle grade books went pretty well, and I looooooove the Captive Prince trilogy, so yaaaaaas. And hey, look, I read about 32 books from late November to the end of February. Not too shabby, eh? And now interviews are over… :D :D

In terms of the books I received:

1. The Voyage to the Magical North by Claire Fayers
2. The Treasure of Maria Mamoun by Michelle Chafoun
3. The Wrong Side of Magic by Jannette Rallison
4. Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke, which was in my 2016 YA Books on My TBR List (and which I now read -- expect a review soon!)

The Voyage to the Magical North is about a girl and her friend who join a pirate’s quest to find the Magical North, which sounds like a place of secrets and myths and lots of fun. The Treasure of Maria Mamoun is an island adventure about a girl from the Bronx on a journey of mystery and discovery. The Wrong Side of Magic is a modern-day retelling of The Phantom Tollbooth, and all three are Middle Grade titles. I haven’t requested many ARCs as of late, and well, I’ve been more in the mood to read MG, as if it’s easier to review MG because I’ve read so much YA at this point, I almost feel saturated. Have you ever gotten that feeling? Do you think that that’s just a part of a reading slump or something more lasting? I was excited for Wink Poppy Midnight, and it was great – the book was also my first ARC from Penguin Random House. I’m a kind of a passive blogger uninterested in emailing publishers for ARCs, but if I’m sent the request form, I do look through the catalog. It’s always unexpected for me when any of that turns out, and I was doubly excited for Wink Poppy Midnight since it was in my 2016 YA Books on My TBR List. Did not disappoint!

That’s what I read, received, and blogged about in fall 2015 / winter 2016. How were these past couple of months for you? Did you read a lot or find a lot of new favorites? Have you been on your blogging/booktubing game?

I don't know why I hadn't posted this here since this is my place for all things bookish!!! :)

I joined the Bookish Bingo Challenge for Fall 2015, and despite being busy I did good!

Here's my Bingo Card:

Did you guys join this one? How did you do? Don't forget the giveaway for those who joined the challenge!

Yet another Tuesday, and yet another Top Ten. :)  I'm seriously enjoying these prompts, and if you're interested in participating, you can find it hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week has me listing my top ten most anticipated reads for the fall season.  Some of these I have as galleys, and others I have on auto buy.  I don't know if I can put them in a list in order because I'm excited for all of them, but hey - what can you do but do your best to try?  So here goes:

10. "We'll Never Be Apart" by Emiko Jean:   This book caught my attention because of two things: twins and psychological thriller.  I'm pretty much sold on those two aspects alone, but the premise for this is really fascinating.  I'm looking forward to reading it (and I have it as a galley, so I'm happy dancing at the chance to read it before release).

9. "Hotel Ruby" by Suzanne Young:  Creepy hotel that promises its occupants will never want to leave?  I'm sold.  I like horror/thriller/suspense/mystery books very much, so it sounds like a book right up my alley.  There have been some mixed opinions from ARC readers though, so it's just a matter of seeing what happens.

8: "Until We Meet Again" by Renee Collins: This is another I have as an ARC and I'm excited to get the chance to read it before it releases this Fall.  I'm into time travel stories/stories that cross different periods.

7. "Soundless" by Richelle Mead: I think I'm definitely ready to read another series starter by Richelle Mead, and for the fact that this is based on Chinese Folklore (plus, look at that epic cover!)  I'm really excited about it and can't wait to read it.

6. "Cam Girl" by Leah Raeder: I really liked "Black Iris" and enjoyed aspects of "Unteachable", so it's no surprise I'd pick up this latest novel from Leah Raeder.  And the premise has me really invested because it's not only featuring protagonists that have little featuring in New Adult, but actually among several romances that I've picked up personally.  I got an ARC for this and should be reading it quite soon.

5. "Hold Me Close" by Megan Hart: I mentioned my eagerness for this in my previous post featuring NetGalley reads I was approved for.  I really enjoy Megan Hart's writing and I've loved how she's touched on difficult topics in her various books, also for character depth and investment.  This is one of her erotic titles (as opposed to other genres she's written in: paranormal, romance, literary fic, etc), so it should be interesting to see how she treats the topic covered here.

4. "I Crawl Through It" by A.S. King: I always look forward to A.S. King's narratives because they treat such unique and difficult subjects in an invested way.  This sounds like it'll be an emotional read from the premise alone.

3. "Illuminae" by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: I've read from both of these authors before, and I've known about this book for quite some time.  I'm especially intrigued to see how this story's told through the different mediums it features and the fact it takes place on a futuristic planet where a deadly plague has broken out.  I'm hoping to read this in another couple of weeks before its release in late October.

2. "This is Where it Ends" by Marieke Njkamp: I'm expecting an emotional read out of this book because it deals with a very difficult subject matter: a school shooting.  The bullet through the chalk featured on the cover was a jarringly nice touch, and the premise hooked me from point one.  I have this as a galley and plan to read it as soon as I can.

1.  "The Iron Warrior" by Julie Kagawa: I've been waiting on my eager hands for this last book in this trilogy of the Iron Fey series: Call of the Forgotten.  I really liked Ethan as a main character, and the last book in this series ended on such an emotional cliffhanger, my reaction was akin to "Noooooooooooooooooo!"  I'm wondering how it's all going to march to its conclusion, but I'll admit when it's over, it's going to be a bittersweet experience.

Until next week's entry,

~Rose