HIIIIII, GUYS! I missed you and your gorgeous internety faces! Life got super lifey lately, that rat bastard, so I took a bit of an internet hiatus. But I plan to return with a VENGEANCE, just like His Royal Voldyness, taking on my enemies with Dark Lord style.
The one good thing about taking a blogging break was that I read A LOT. And most of the books I read were super great, so bow I'm going to chat about the very best books I read in the interim. I'm definitely planning on doing reviews for them, but obviously my unintended hiatus knocked my schedule rather out of whack, and I don't want these wonderful books to fall by the wayside. And besides, I just like yammering about good books and showering them with as much attention as they deserve, which is a lot.
And at the end of this post is... a giveaway! To say how much I really did miss you, my faithful Book Eaters. You all look ravishing in your evildoers' robes and masks.
The books:
The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace
EMOTIONS. I HAD THEM. I was not expecting that! I was expecting a high fantasy romp with SHIPPING and banter and magicks and mayhems and kidnapping and murder and betrayal. And I got that... but I also got a sucker punch to the stomach. And a SHIP. Shipshipshipship. Shippity ship. Shippppadeedoodah.
Edit:
The WONDERFUL Becky Wallace offered to through in a bonus prize for the winner: a signed map bookplate for The Storyspinner! Check it out:
So basically, I've decided there will be TWO winners of this giveaway. The first winner will win their book of choice, and if they choose The Storyspinner, they'll get the book and a bookplate. The second winner will either get The Storyspinner if the first winner didn't choose it or they book of choice if the first winner did! (Less confusing than it sounds.) Basically, I'm giving away a copy of The Storyspinner and this book plate one way or another.
EVERYBODY THANK THE FABULOUS BECKY!
The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
SPEAKING. OF. SHIPS. Guys. I barely know how to talk about this one without rolling around and making sort of scary moaning noises and clawing at the sky. It's lush, romantic, terrible, twisted, beautiful, and spellbinding. Shazi is a firecracker of a heroine, the side characters are sublime, and Khalid. Khalid and Shahrzad. I have been rendered unable to complete the task known as "even-ing".
The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey
Usually describing a book as X meets Y hardly ever captures the true essence of a book, and mostly comes across as a bit of a cheesy marketing thing. ("Graceling meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer!" "The Fault in Our Stars meets Eon!" "Eleanor and Park meets X-Men!") (By the way, someone write me those.) But The Girl at Midnight ACTUALLY IS Daughter of Smoke and Bone meets City of Bones. It's City of Smoke and Bones! It's about a race of dragon people at war with a race of bird people and the snarky, sassy human girl who stands between them. Exactly my kind of urban fantasy!
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.
This book had SO. MUCH. HYPE, but the degree to which I love Victoria's is astronomical, so I was expecting greatness. And then Victoria was like I SEE YOUR GREATNESS AND I RAISE YOU MASTERLY PERFECTION and then laughed in my face. This booooooooooook. The worldbuilding is mindblogging, gorgeous and rich and complex and terrifying. The characters are amazeballs (Delilah Bard is my patronus). And the book is just stupid beautiful to look at, too, which does not hurt.
Unsurprisingly, March has been a fantasy-heavy month for me, because fantasy is the best genre ever to genre and all who disagree must fall.
Giveaway time! Yay! This competition is open internationally, though you must live in a country that The Book Depository ships to. The winner will get to choose one of the above books as their prize. For books not yet released, the winner will receive a preorder, NOT an ARC. All prizes will be finished copies.
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Dark Lord funk you up, Dark Lord funk you up
Posts
Yayyyyy you're back! I was worried for a while there :( NOT ENOUGH GILLY IN MY LIFE. But yeah, when life gets tough, it's healthy to take a step back. I hope you've completely recharged :)
ReplyDeleteWHEEE GIVEAWAY. I totally want to win The Wrath & the Dawn because Christina AND NOW YOU and like thirty other people have said it's completely amazing and the shiiiiiiip. And I like completely amazing books with awesome shiiiiiiips. So duh.
ANYWAY YAY MORE GILLY IN MY LIFE.
YOU REALLY WANT TO WIN THAT BOOK, MY DEAREST ORANGE. YOU SUPER DO. *CLINGS TO YOU IN A BIG SCARY SQUISH HUG*
DeleteHey Gilly welcome back!! :D Thank you so much for the opportunity!
ReplyDeleteI've been dying to read A Darker Shade of Magic since last year, and I really want to win the book! *fingers crossed* Haven't read any of your favorites though. My favorite read on March was The Little Prince!
I'd love to win A Darker Shade of Magic or The Storyspinner. Welcome back, Gilly! :)
ReplyDeleteYeay, welcome back! :) I LOVED A darker shade of magic. I was afraid for all the hype, but I should have known better - Schwab already showed me that she is a genius. I am buying The storyspinner soon and I can't wait to read The wrath & the dawn.
ReplyDeleteWasn't ADSOM A-FREAKING-MAZING?? I totally should have known it would be, but it was just SO GOOD. So goooood.
DeleteWelcome back!!! I haven't read any March reads, wait…yes I read the My little pony graphic novel and I'm reading the Bob's Burger's one they are both fab. I would love to win The Girl At Midnight or Darker shade of magic. A non-march release that I read this month was A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd and that was my *fav* read of the month!
ReplyDelete-Diamond @ Dee's Reads
i'm so glad you found stories you enjoyed this much!
ReplyDeletei'm really interested in teh storyspinner now but the girl at midnight would be my second choice ( if only for the cover^^;;)
thank yuou for coming back we missed you!
I haven't read any of these books yet but I'd choose a darker shade of magic because a lot of my friends liked it
ReplyDeleteHi again :) I laughed at your description of A Darker Shade of Magic. It's perfect! It was the best book I read in March - followed by The DUFF and Shadow Scale, both of which I enjoyed very much. I think March was a good reading month.
ReplyDeleteI think I would pick The Storyspinner because the synopsis sounds really interesting - or possibly The Girl at Midnight because I loved Laini Taylor's trilogy. Thank you for hosting this giveaway!
I actually want to win everything in this list; I've been patiently waiting for these lovelies to be released into the world. As for my favourite March read, I didn't reach as much as I would like to because of school. But my most recent read, Faking Normal, would have to do!
ReplyDeleteI would want to with The Wrath and the Dawn. I'm hearing so many good things about it, and I'm dying to read it. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win The Wrath and the Dawn! :D
I am really wanting to read A Darker Shade of Magic! I haven't read any Schwab before, but I keep hearing that I should.
ReplyDeleteI would possibly like to win The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. I haven't read any of the books you read but they looking like an interesting read! Lately since my professors are pounding me with exams, I haven't had the time to read any books. But I recently acquired Little Peach so when I have the time I want to read that and finish it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this amazing chance! :)
Yay, I'm glad your back! I hope you and your family are okay.
ReplyDeleteThe first three books sound amazing and are on my to-read shelf, and I already KNOW ADSOM is amazing (even if I hadn't read it, like you said, it's Victoria Schwab. OF COURSE it's amazing.). I think Storyspinner would be my top pick, though.
My favorite reads of the month are All Our Yesterdays and The Orphan Queen (although that ending. Ouch.).
I WANT TO READ ALL OF THE BOOKS! Already preordered The Wrath & the Dawn when I saw how much you loved it on Goodreads & Twitter. SO EXCITED.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're back! I've had my eye on The Wrath and the Dawn for quite some time...glad that you liked it.
ReplyDeleteVery yes to all things The Storyspinner. Thanks to Twitter I was expecting the feels but STILL THE PAIN. AND ALSO THE SHIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP THAT SHIP IS SO SHIP WORTHY.
ReplyDeleteobvs I agree with everything you have to say about ADSOM because ADSOM
I have Wrath sitting on my shelf and I've been eyeing it so I may need to bump it on my list. And Nikki is sending me The Girl at Midnight so YAY SOON I am so excite for it.
Dark lord funk was hilarious!!! I want to read a darker shade of magic. Like a lot! Glad to hear it's worth the wait!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to read The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, I am sooo excited for this book!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!! Life can get hectic sometimes, but at least you got some reading done and hopefully spent a lot of time cuddling with your fur baby <3 Also, this is easily the best giveaway ever!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! Life has been nasty to me as well this month, so I actually haven't done much reading. One standout for me though was Made You Up by Frances Zappia - it kept me guessing until the very end! And from your list, I'd have to say that I'm most excited for The Wrath and the Dawn. CAN'T WAIT till May!
ReplyDelete*tackles* Don't ever do that again.
ReplyDeleteAlso, ugh, I WANT THEMZ ALLLLLLL.
Wow, thanks so much for this give away! It seems like March did have an especially strong bunch of ARCs floating around, which is awesome. I have been DYING to read A Darker Shade of Magic since I first heard about it.
ReplyDeleteADSOM WAS AMAZINGGG. Lilah Bard was amazing. Rhy Maresh is my prince. Ugh, so much GOOD. I'm beyond axcited for The Wrath and The Dawn. I am so interested in the potential the story represented and I need it nowwww. So glad you enjoyed it as well!! I'm pretty excited for The Girl At Midnight as well!
ReplyDeleteI would love to read a Darker Shade of Magic!
ReplyDeleteYAAY for reading so many awesome books :D You are amazing Gillian. <3 And I love this post so much. Sigh. I am dying to read The Wrath & the Dawn + The Storyspinner + ADSOM :) Though I own/have pre-ordered these three, so I would really love to win The Girl at Midnight :D So gorgeous! <3 Best book I read this month.. hmm. The Uninvited by Cat Winters, I think :D Best re-read this month.. The Golden Compass; which I finished re-reading today. <3 LYRA! Thank you for this amazing giveaway sweetie :)
ReplyDeleteYAY You're back! I really want to read The Wrath & The Dawn and A Darker Shade of Magic. My favorite book this month was Cinder. I finally got around to reading it and it was just overall amazing!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite book this month was The Winner's Crime, I absoltely loved it! I reckon I'd pick The Storyspinner if I won. Thanks for the giveaway:)
ReplyDeleteI would choose The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey if I won. My favorite read this month would either have to be The DUFF by Kody Keplinger or Model Misfit by Holly Smale. Both were awesome beyond words
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!!!!! :) From your favorite reads, I would want to win A Darker Shade of Magic. I LOVED The Archived and Vicious and I've heard nothing but epic things about ADSOM!! I have ARCs of The Storyspinner and The Girl at Midnight and they're on my "Read ASAP!" TBR! I'm so, so excited for them!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the epic giveaway! :)
The Wrath and the Dawn seems like a good read. :) I read the Blood of Eden series by Julie Kagawa this month, it was good.
ReplyDeleteMary G Loki
It's a tough call between The Wrath and the Dawn & A Darker Shade of Magic. Both sound so fabuloussss. I haven't read much in March but the most memorable read for me has been Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman. :)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all Welcome Back! Oh man I would love A Darker Shade of Magic! This book sounds so amazing and I have heard so many good things!
ReplyDeleteSO MANY CHOICES! All of the books sound absolutely amazing! I don't know how I could decide if I won!
ReplyDeleteAs for favorite march reads, I just read My Heart and Other Black Holes and Saint Anything back to back. I loved both of them and now I'm reading This Shattered World, which I am loving so far!
The Wrath and the Dawn is the one I have to go with! No doubt about it! Glad you are back and thank you for the awesome giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're back! I recently had the urge to read Anne of Green Gables again, so that was my exciting read this March. It was lovely to start off spring with a character as life-loving as Anne!
ReplyDeleteCLAW AT THE SKY GILLIAN!!!! YOU MUST YOU MUST!
ReplyDeleteOkay. Time to put the serious hat on: I am so happy you liked The Wrath and the dawn as well as the storyspinner. They both look like wine+blanket+puppy on my lap+watching the 100=Brigid haz feels recipe.
The Girl at Midnight. :D Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win "The Wrath and the Dawn"! I read a little preview snippet of it a couple months ago and I NEED it!!
ReplyDeleteBest read of March, hmm... Reread? "Amy & Roger's Epic Detour" by: Morgan Matson. First read? "Wither" by: Lauren DeStefano :)
I'd love to win A Darker Shade of Magic!! So glad to see you back!!!
ReplyDeleteI would love to win A Darker Shade of Magic. It seems like a great book and I can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win The Girl at Midnight, because who doesn't love dragons?! Thanks for the giveaway!!!
ReplyDeleteI would like The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, I've only heard good about it! :)
ReplyDeleteThe other day I was seriously thinking about I wasn't receiving your posts on my email! I'm glad you're back!
ReplyDeleteI wish I won the giveaway. Altough it's not likely. Well, at least I'm trying right? People always say the important thing is trying.
Oh man! I just saw now that I was supposed to leave a comment answering certain questions! I just read "leave a comment" and when I published it BOOM I realised I shouldn't try to be a smart ass. I've learned my lesson (probably not).
DeleteSo... I don't know, I'm curious to read The Storyspinner and A darker shade of magic. I haven't read any of the books.
My favourite read this month was Red Queen - I'm pretty sure you've heard about this book
Oh my goodness those all sound so good!!! Storyspinner sounds so intriguing though, I mean, can they actually spin stories? I don't know. But I will find out eventually. Best book of the month for me is definitely the Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin because I FINALLY read them and oh my word so addictive.
ReplyDeleteA Darker Shade of Magic for sure. Love her other books
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait for wrath and the dawn, but I have a question. How is the romance?
ReplyDeleteI shipped it SOOOOOOOO HAAAAAAAAAAARD
DeleteJust finished A Darker Shade of Magic and LOVED it!! Can't wait to see what comes next in the series and I may have to read the rest of the books Schwab has out ;) I think Storyspinner is the one on your list that I'd love to win/check out next, though all the others sound good too!
ReplyDeleteHiiiii, WELCOME BACK!!! I'm so glad you're posting regularly (what is regularly anyway) again! And oh, you asked us a question, didn't you? Well, since I've read both Wrath (I SHIP THIS ROMANCE SO HARD TOO) and ADSOM (basically pure perfection, love both Kell and Lila), and I'm currently reading The Girl at Midnight (which has a fabulous beginning, and I can't wait to continue), I would want The Storyspinner!! :)
ReplyDeleteI think I'd love to win either The Wrath & the Dawn or A Darker Shade of Magic!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had the chance to read any of the books on your list, but they're all on my TBR list. It's actually super hard to pick just one I want to read first. I guess I would go with The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh heard amazing things about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway! :)
Hi, I think I would like to have The Storyspinner or The Girl at Midnight if I won the giveaway. I've seen alot of good things about A Darker Shade of Magic. Unfortunately I've not had the chance to read any of these books yet. I'd say my favorite book this month has been The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win The Storyspinner or The Girl at Midnight! Either way, thank you for the giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteYou make all the books sound soo good and I'm having a hard time deciding what book to pick. Maybe The Wrath & the Dawn? Or A Darker Shade of Magic? But but, if The Girl of Midnight = City of Smoke and Bones… I don't know which to pick.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have The Storyspinner. The best book I've read lately is Nightbird.
ReplyDeleteI love that song (and music vid). It takes me to my happy place. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd YAY for excellent books (and double yay because these were already all on my TBR pile...I feel vindicated in those choices now). I hope life gets less lifey and more...er...blog posty?
It is hard to choose !!!! Maybe A Darker Shade of Magic!! I wanna read them all. Favorite book that I read in March is Blue Lily, Lily Blue!! I love Maggie and her prose! :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you're back! :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of the books you mentioned, but I've heard SO MANY GREAT things about Victoria Schwab's books, I am currently waiting on my copy of Vicious, and I can't wait to read ADSOM because I HAVE to see what the hype is about.
I'd either choose The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace or A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. I haven't read any of the books you listed yet. My favourite book that I read in March was Illusion by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
ReplyDeleteYay, so glad you're back! :)
ReplyDeleteAs for my choice of book, I'm absolutely torn between The Storyspinner and The Wrath and the Dawn.
Ooh, they all sound good! Based on your descriptions I think The Wrath and the Dawn and A Deeper Shade of Magic are highest on my list. Thanks for the mini-reviews! :)
ReplyDeleteAll of these are on my list. I would love to win any of them, but the signed bookplate makes The Storyspinner the frontrunner for me.
ReplyDeleteI want them all, but I think you most sold me on The Storyspinner, emotions matter to me more in books than pretty much anything else. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI would love to read A Darker Shade of Magic!
ReplyDeleteI would love to win any of these but if I had to choose I would probably go with The Storyspinner! The best book I read in March was These Broken Stars.
ReplyDeleteGILLIAN. HOW DO I CHOOOOOOSE? They all sound so good, but since I completely trust my girl VE Schwab I think I'd have to go with ADSOM (because HOW DO I NOT HAVE THAT YET???)
ReplyDeleteAs for March, hmm... I read SKANDAL, sequel to SEKRET, and that was good. Oh and I FINALLY read ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. OMG. Why did you people let me put that book off for so long?!
Anyway now I'm just babbling so YAY GLAD YOU'RE BACK! <3 <3
I want to read all four! I have the Storyspinner coming in the mail, but other than that, I do not have any others. I cannot wait to read all four in the near-ish future! I *think* I would choose The Wrath & the Dawn, but I guess it is all up in the air. I finally finished Heir of Fire this month, and since it was so dense it took up most of my reading for the month. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI would choose The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey right now. TFS.
ReplyDeleteAhhh you always read the BEST books! A Darker Shade of Magic has been on my radar and I NEED IT NOW (...but I'm only reading non-white authors this month so I have to wait *whines*). Of course that would make The Wrath & The Dawn PERFECT....but it's not out til May and now I want it. I WANT THEM ALL.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!!! These are all amazing choices. I loved them all but the one I don't have is The Wrath and The Dawn so that would be my very very excited making choice. Glad to have u round again!!
ReplyDelete❤️Britt
I would officially like to change my pick to The Storyspinner I forgot I preordered The Wrath :-))
DeleteI haven't read any of these books yet but I'd choose A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab because i've been hearing lots of good things.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!! :) I would love to win A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. My favorite book in March was The King by J.R. Ward. Thank you for the amazing giveaway! :)
ReplyDeleteWELCOME BACK GILLIAN!!
ReplyDeleteHooray for international giveaways, that's totally amazing, thank yoooou!! Since I already own or have preorder all the other books, I'd totally go for the Storyspinner because I've read so many great things about it!!
Hiiiii! *hugs*
ReplyDeleteHis Royal Voldyness *snickers*
I have Storyspinner and Darker Shade of Magic on my TBR and I'm going to add the other two now. If I HAD to choose I think it'd be Storyspinner, but you've made me excited for all of them!
Oh and my favourite March read was Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson.
YAH! I notice that it has been somewhat quieter here, but I have been int he same mood. I've been so behind on life and so many things have happened, that I took an unplanned break from life.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to see you back! Lots of hugs and cuddles!!
haven't read any of them; not sure
ReplyDeleteI was just talking about how badly I want to read A Darker Shade of Magic SO YEAH THAT ONE.
ReplyDeleteGillian! You've been missed! This has got to be the best post and the best opinions I've read in awhile! Love it! Choosing just one book would be so hard. I want to read all of them!
ReplyDeleteAwesome giveaway! I've got a copy of ADSOM on the way and I'm sure I'll love it. I'm super excited about Girl at Midnight which is why I'm here ;)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite March read was See Me by Wendy Higgins. I was gonna say There You Stand by Christina Lee but apparently I read that this month, haha.
I'm so excited for The Wrath and the Dawn! The Storyspinner is definitely on my tbr list as well. My favorite March read was probably Cracked by Eliza Crewe. I loved it!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these but I need to get on that! I'm super excited about The Wrath and the Dawn!
ReplyDeleteWELCOME BACK!!!!
I would love to read either The Wrath and the Dawn or The Girl at Midnight. They both sound like they would pull on my emotions!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited about the Storyspinner from the reviews, the ship will set sail! I can't wait to read the Orphan Queen as it was my march treat :D
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to blogging, Gillian! I must say that the reads you've mentioned above do all sound pretty dang great :) If I were going to pick one, I'd want The Wrath and the Dawn!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any March release yet. It's difficult to choose one. The Storyspinner, The Girl at Midnight or A Darker Shade of Magic :D
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!
Welcome back!
ReplyDeleteI'd probably pick The Wrath and the Dawn or ADSoM.
(Posted before, but not sure it showed up!)
-MSGB
I've read A Darker Shade of Magic and really loved it! Where's that next book because we need them nowwww. I got myself a copy of The Storyspinner already so can't wait to start that. The Wrath & the Dawn and The Girl at Midnight both sound excellent so honestly I cannot choose which book I'm more excited for. I want to read them ALL! Thanks so much for the giveaway :D
ReplyDeleteThe Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury! Really enjoyed that book.
ReplyDelete