Top Ten Authors I've Only Read One Book from but Need to Read More of

It's been a long time since I've done a TTT! My criteria for this one was that every author had to have at least two books released, so no debuts, because then we'd be here all day.

DNF You

Things have been suuuuuper busy (which is code for, um... I've read eight Richelle Mead books in the past week and a half? Sorry not sorry? VAMPIRE ACADEMY TOOK OVER MY LIFE OKAY) so not much blogging has occured. I've been too distracted by the Adrian fictional. Plus I moderated my first author event on Saturday! It was Sarah J Maas' last stop on her tour, and I got to chat and hang out with her, Robin Benway, and Nina Berry. It was all different kinds of awesome, and I'll do a post about it hopefully tomorrow.

In the meantime... let's talk about the unfortunate books that fell victim to my VA and Bloodlines binge read/mania/blind addiction! Poor unfortunate books. Perhaps in another point in my life, I could have finished you.

Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Release date: September 9th, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic
Series: Yes, #1 in the Magisterium series
Source: ARC from BEA14
Rating: A fun middle grade with a great twist and characters, though a sagging middle and derivative aspects try to ruin the party.



From NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare comes a riveting new series that defies what you think you know about the world of magic.

From two bestselling superstars, a dazzling and magical middle-grade collaboration centering on the students of the Magisterium, an academy for those with a propensity toward magic. In this first book, a new student comes to the Magisterium against his will -- is it because he is destined to be a powerful magician, or is the truth more twisted than that? It's a journey that will thrill you, surprise you, and make you wonder about the clear-cut distinction usually made between good and evil.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how much I did enjoy this. It's not without its flaws (pacing and deriviate aspects, mostly), but overall, reading The Iron Trial was a positive reading experience, and the whopper of a twist at the end makes me excited for the books to come.

When Everyone Loves a Book but You

This may be weird, but I struggle with being the NEGATIVE black sheep more than I do being the positive one. Don't get me wrong; when people hate on books I love, I want to crawl under my blanket and weep off my eyeliner and shriek, "LEAVE BOOK-EY ALONE!" because obviously those meanies are not worthy of the precious and wouldn't know genius if I bashed them in the face with it. Or... something less unhinged.

Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorn Stories by Rae Carson

Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns Stories by Rae Carson
Goodreads
Release date: August 26th, 2014
Publisher: Greenwillow (Harper)
Series: Yes, #0.5-0.7 in the Fire and Thorns series
Source: Purchased
Length: 288 pages
Rating: HECTORRRR!!! And some other people.

A paperback edition of three novellas set within the world of the New York Times bestselling Girl of Fire and Thorns series, previously available only digitally: The Shadow Cats, The Shattered Mountain, and The King’s Guard. 

The Shadow Cats is told from the perspective of Elisa’s older sister. Discover how their sibling rivalry looks from Alodia’s viewpoint, and find out why Alodia agrees to marry her sister off to King Alejandro of Joya de Arena.

The Shattered Mountain revolves around Elisa’s best friend and handmaiden, Mara. Before she meets Elisa at the rebel camp in The Girl of Fire and Thorns, she suffers her own tragedy. Her village is destroyed and she must lead the few young survivors to safety.

The King’s Guard centers on Hector, Commander of the Royal Guard and Elisa’s true love. Set years before The Girl of Fire and Thorns, it shows us fifteen-year-old Hector as a new recruit. He must prove himself—and he discovers a secret he must keep forever.

My reviews of The Girl of Fire and Thorns | The Crown of Embers | The Bitter Kingdom

This little bind-up of three novellas set in the same world as Rae Carson's The Girl of Fire and Thorns is short and sweet, so that's how this is going to be. I love this fantasy series so much, and although these novellas didn't quite satisfy the hole left behind by that series closure (seriously why can't we have a novella of Hector and Elis TOGETHER PLEASE), there's no doubt that Carson is a total fantasy master. Oh, and I do think these novellas are best read AFTER reading the rest of the series. I think they'll mean more, and if you read these first, you'll be confused about the worldbuilding, since I think Carson is operating under the assumption that the reader has as least read The Girl of Fire and Thorns first.

Let's break it down by novella:

Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead
Goodreads
Release date: April 10th, 2008
Publisher: Razorbill
Series: Yes, #2 in the Vampire Academy series
Source: Purchased
Length: 327 pages
Rating: Man, I'm loving this book so much! Rose is so bad ass, and Dimitri is hot, and oooh hello Adrian, and I'm laugh---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PAAAAAAAAIN!!!!!



Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose...

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...

My review of book one, Vampire Academy

WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS SERIES WOULD RUIN MY LIFE?

DAMN YOU BOOK DAMN YOU

I admit that I have a terrible personality flaw, and it's that sometimes, I can be the worst hipster. It's been a long journey for me from the classic-reading snobby teenager I was to the adult who shrieks about ships on the internet and proudly draws fan art. Vampire Academy was an unfortunate casualty of my hipster snob years where I wasn't so into vampires or love triangles or things that were suuuper popular. (The Hunger Games OBVIOUSLY super did not count for reasons Hipster Snobby Gillian probably could not explain with logic.)

Basically? I'm an idiot, and this series rocks.

Fall into Belzhar

I don't do tons of blog tours at Writer of Wrongs. Don't get me wrong; I love blog tours and have loved all the ones I've done in the past, especially the ones for books I am SUPER DUPER obsessed with. So you know that if I'm taking part on the incredible interactive online campaign for Belzhar, it's for a good reason. And that's because this campaign is all about being creative, and I cannot resist an opportunity to get creative. (Seriously, I miss the days when homework was to draw pictures instead of do math problems.)

Thirteen Days of Ash and Fire: An Heir of Fire Blog Tour + Giveaway

HEIR OF FIRE IS ALMOST HERE!!! No, this blog isn't turning into a Sarah J. Maas fan blog, though it might seem that way because of how vocal I've been lately about my unhealthy obsession with totally reasonable love for her Throne of Glass series. When Alexa, Judith, Jaz, Rachel, and Katie invited me to be a part of the Maas Thirteen and host a spot on the Heir of Fire blog tour, I spazzed and shrieked and tossed confetti in the air expressed my utmost joy in a way that would certainly not frighten children.

The rest of the tour schedule:

August 25 – Jaz @ Fiction In Fiction In Fiction

August 26 – Katie @ Polished Page-Turners

August 27 – Kelly @ Belle of the Literati

August 28 – Elena @ Novel Sounds

August 29 – Nicole @ The Quiet Concert

September 1 – Gillian @ Writer of Wrongs 

September 2 – Judith @ Paperiot

September 3 – Melanie @ The Daily Prophecy

September 4 – Magan @ Rather Be Reading

September 5 – Andi @ Andi’s ABCs

September 8 – Gina @ Behind the Pages

September 9 – Rachel @ Hello Chelly 

September 10 – Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books

Since I reviewed (read: LOST MY DAMN MIND OVER) the epicness that was Heir of Fire (out tomorrow!), I thought I'd do something different on my stop today. What I love most about this series are the characters and how strong and real they are. I know there are a ton of characters and it can be hard to keep track, so here's my visual guide to the main characters in Heir of Fire, from the dearly familiar to the fresh and new!