Add These To Your Goodreads TBR, Please + Thank You

Guys, I know it's not Tuesday, so this isn't a Top Ten List or anything, but I was thinking about the to-be-published books I'm most excited for and I just have to share some of them with you RIGHT NOW before my insides explode. And yes, I know many of these books don't come out for quite a few months (and some of them don't even have covers or solid release dates) but I'm so, so, so excited and I don't do Waiting on Wednesday anymore, so I HAD TO SHARE.

**Please note: All images/typography bits done up in lieu of images are links to the associated Goodreads page. So click and add these books to your TBR immediately, you'll thank me later.

READY?

Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013 (28)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013. I've read 46 books this year, according to Goodreads, and while there are A LOT of books (*cough* all 6 Tamora Pierce books I've re-read to mention a few *cough*), here are the 10 that I think you all should make sure you get to in a very timely fashion. And when I say 10, I mean 12, because I've put two second-book-in-trilogy books on this list and OBVIOUSLY you need to read the first one first. Obviously.

1. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina was my first book read in 2013 and it did NOT disappoint. I loved the dragons, the twists, I loved the writing... just about everything. I hadn’t read a dragon or high fantasy book in a very long time (mostly from fear that nothing would ever match up to Tamora Pierce - whom I love) and this book totally destroyed any and all fears I had about recent high fantasy publications ruining one of my favorite genres. And, just in case you’re having some trouble starting this one, skip the prologue and come back to it at the end. It’ll make more sense once you’re done. Oh, and be PATIENT. It’s worth it. (My Review)

2. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Even though I read this book when my windows were still frosted over this past winter, I could still feel the heat. The romance, the twists, the family relationships - even the cover is enough to make a person want to read this book. Seriously. Try to say no to that cover - especially now that we’ve made it to the summer months. I’d say it’s almost impossible to deny this potential beach read. And y’know, even if you curl up inside with the AC blasting while you make your way through this one, you’ll probably feel the summer humidity just like I did. And that’s not just the kisstastic relationship in the book doing the talking. (My Review)

3. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

I picked Unravel Me for this list instead of Shatter Me in hopes that my nomination of this book will lead you to go read Shatter Me first so you can read this one (if you haven’t already devoured this series). That way I secretly/sneakily put two books in one item on this list. Why? Because this is one of those series that really makes the dystopian genre and trilogies in general look good. Not to mention I love the strike-throughs. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I sometimes like knowing there’s something different out there for me to dig into. It’s oddly comforting - even this book is so very much NOT comforting in any way. Also? SUPERHEROES. (My Review)

4. Ferryman by Claire McFall

Is it possible for a book to not really have a genre? If it is, this book really don’t have one. I would say it’s supernatural, if I had to pick one - maybe paranormal? But not really. If anything, it’s a contemporary book put in a supernatural/paranormal/Greek Mythology context. And, whatever genre you’d place it in, it’s wonderful. Probably one of my most favorite reads AND reviews of the year. Claire McFall might be a small time Scottish writer, but I definitely hope she A) gets the recognition she deserves and B) keeps writing! (My Review)

5. The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

This book is just so different from your usual dystopian - probably because the book doesn’t dwell on the dystopian. Instead it fleshes out the dystopian just enough and then focuses on the danger, the philosophical issues and the relationships between the characters. But, for once, the philosophical part is my favorite (that’s NOT usually the case for me) because the book asks you to consider what it is to be human and that’s something we should all consider on occasion. (My Review)

6. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

My favorite fantasy read of the year, Graceling is the book I should have read 5 years ago but didn’t. And with the number of times I picked it up, put it down and picked it up again? I’m honestly ashamed of past Gaby. This book is so fantastically fantastic. All of the everything is just so perfect and well paced. Seriously. If I could time travel, I would go back in disguise (y’know, as to not create a paradox or anything crazy like that - thanks for the time travel education, Doctor Who) and hand myself this book. Because 5-years-ago Gaby REALLY should have read this book. And so should all of you. (My Review)

7. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Everything in this book is absolutely made of awesome and I believe everyone should read it - intolerance for slow/confusing beginnings be damned. It’s just so beautifully layered and complicated that no one should miss it, no matter what the excuse. FURTHERMORE, Melina Marchetta is a GENIUS because EVERYTHING in this book is in it for a reason. There are no extra words or unnecessary plot devices. This author is NOT wasting your time, nor does she think you anything less than clever. (My Review)

8. Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Yet another series where I mention the second in order to coerce you to read the first. Through the Ever Night is just so touching, wonderful and heroic. I finish the book and I feel like all of the characters are real people I should be able to spend my days with. Even more so, the relationships between these oh-so-real characters are so sigh-worthy that I could read about them all day and be perfectly content. Oh. Also. The action, danger and dystopia-ness in this serious is pretty crazy and awesome too. (My Review)

9. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Sometimes I read retelling and my reaction is: “That was great. I could go for another.” But at the end of this book I couldn’t even think of what I would read next because my mind was still on this book. And it wasn’t that I wanted to have more time with these characters. I actually felt fairly completely at the end of it all. I just needed to take a deep breath and process the fact that I’d finished such a brilliant book. I just needed to savor the ending and not rush past it to the next book in my stack.

10. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Sometimes, when I get to the end of a book, I tear through the last however many pages. It’s like a freefall into an ending that you know isn’t going to give you exactly what you wanted - but what you needed instead. But instead of getting upset at the book for not give you what you wanted (as opposed to the all knowing “needed”), you just close the book and sigh. Because it was THAT GOOD.

*ADDENDUM BECAUSE I'M FOOLISH AND I FORGOT*

11. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer 

Another second-book-in-series I have to put up here. I liked Cinder and LOVED Scarlet. I think it's because there were more characters to work with - the shifting POV was done PERFECTLY - but for whatever reason this fairytale retelling was in no way obvious. And even if the storyline WAS obvious, I DID NOT want it to happen that way. So. Go pick up this series RIGHT NOW because it's totally a new favorite of mine. (My Review)

Have you read any of these? This year? Last year? Any year? If you have, did you love? If you haven't, DO YOU WANT TO? Talk to me in the comments below!

Review: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Title: Seraphina (Seraphina #1)
Author: Rachel HartmanRelease Date: July 12th, 2012
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Page Count: 451
Source: Borrowed from the New York Public Library
Rating: ★★★★★

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

THE REVIEW

High fantasy is my absolute favorite. It has been since the first time I read The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce. Only, I'm very picky about my high fantasy. Stellar world building isn't enough for me. I need MORE and Seraphina really delivers.

Let's break this down:

Even though I just said world building isn't enough, I still want to start with it because OH MAN I love what Rachel Hartman manages to create. The descriptions and the history and the philosophy and the religions and the monarchy... it's a full fledged society that doesn't require a million charts and family trees for me to keep track of (although the glossaries in the back are great - helps me keep the saints straight). I don't even need phonetic spellings for most of the names in the book. This book isn't trying to be unnecessarily clever or create a world you can't quite wrap your head around and I LIKE THAT.

Seraphina is also a character I can wrap my head around. She's scared and kind of alone, living between two worlds, feeling like she doesn't actually belong in either. Hi, relatable. But I think what's really great about Seraphina (besides for how relatable and brave and badass she is) is that she doesn't want to stay stuck. The whole book she seems like she wants to hide, but even from the very start you can just TELL based on the job she has that she wants to own what she is, she just has to find a way to do it.

As for secondary characters, I love 'em. Kiggs is just UGH. Seriously. He's so sweet I can't even. Not to mention Glisselda is mercifully and wonderfully un-ditzy. I also adore Orma and the half dragons. All of the character have the right motivations and behave in the way I would honestly expect them to, given their situations. Not to mention, each character has a purpose. No one's just there to be there, really. They come up in the beginning to establish the appropriate foreshadowing and then really make you feel like the book comes full circle at the end (even though there CLEARLY needs to be more because of all the romance and missing grotesques and impending doom and such).

Which leads me to the plot. I would say that high fantasy and mystery are two of my favorite genres, but they also happen to be two of the genres I'm pickiest about. It's remarkably easy to get confused and irritated by fantasy and bored with mystery, but this book really covers all it's bases. The first hundred or so pages are necessarily meaty to situate the reader, but it wasn't as if nothing happened during all that. I mean, the book opens with a royal death. That's a pretty big-freaking-deal. Although, strangely enough, considering that this death is the instigator of what happens for 450 pages, it's NOT the driving force of the story. It's important, sure, but the book has so many different plots and subplots and, amazingly, I never feel like any of them are being neglected at all. 

Also. Guys. THAT PLOT TWIST AT THE END. I can't say I'm always great at knowing how stories are going to end, but this time I really had no idea. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter. (Unless you comment or send me an email or something and then we can get all "!!!!!" over it together.)

And last, but oh so definitely not least, all of this - the world building, characters and plot - would not be possible if not for Rachel Hartman's amazing, fluid writing style. Honestly. The prose was just as magical and charming as the book. I absolutely cannot wait until book 2! 

The long and short of it?

Plot: Intricate and surprising - an absolute delight.
World Building: The high fantasy realm I didn't even know I needed.
Character Development: I choose all of you. Seriously. Let's all be friends.
Prose: Mellifluous (I pulled out a fancy word for this review, that's how good it is)
Would I Recommend This Book?: Absolutely. And while you're at it, pick up The Song of The Lioness quartet if you haven't read them yet and rejoice, for you have purchased GREAT BOOKS.

Stacking the Shelves (3)

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews

Since I GRADUATED COLLEGE this past week, I decided to treat myself by purchasing a couple of books. A friend and I went to Barnes and Noble together after my last in-class final and we each limited ourselves to 3 books. Can you believe that? THREE. I'm a superhero. Then again, I did start compiling my holds list at my library at home two weeks ago. So there's that.
All of this is piled up on top of everything from last week and the week before, of course, since I have no self-control to speak of.

BORROWED

   

1. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
I took this out of the library a couple of months ago but ran out of summer before I got a chance to read it. Take II it is.

2. In Honor by Jessi Kirby This story sounds so heartbreaking and I love a good cryfest, don't you?

3. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

My friend's mom bought her this one for Chanuka. She finished it. It was near me. I asked to borrow it. She said yes. Now I get to read it! (Thanks Leah! ^_^)

BOUGHT

    4. The Diviners by Libba Bray I read the first few chapters of A Great and Terrible Beauty and I really like it so far. I also LOVE the plot of this book. I mean, occult, murder, New York, 1920s and magic? It's basically all of my favorite things wrapped into one and I cannot wait.
5. If I Stay by Gayle Forman Everyone loves Gayle Forman. I want to love Gayle Forman. Therefore I will read this ASAP.
6. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler When I showed the summary of this book to my friend who went book shopping with me post-finals, she said: "This sounds like Sarah Dessen." Maybe that's why I like the sound of this book so much. Either way, I must read.
And that's what's going on with me. What did you guys add to the TBR stacks this week?