Little Library Muse: May 2018

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Excerpt & Giveaway: Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Title: Furyborn
Author: Claire Legrand
ISBN: 9781492656623, Hardcover
Release Date: May 22nd, 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Website | Goodreads

The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed…unless the trials kill her first.

One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable—until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire’s heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world—and of each other.

Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne

Author: Alexa Donne
Title: Brightly Burning
Publication: May 1, 2018
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA Fantasy, Science Fiction, Retelling
Source: Publisher
Website | Twitter | Goodreads

About the Book Seventeen-year-old Stella Ainsley wants just one thing: to go somewhere—anywhere—else. Her home is a floundering spaceship that offers few prospects, having been orbiting an ice-encased Earth for two hundred years. When a private ship hires her as a governess, Stella jumps at the chance. The captain of the Rochester, nineteen-year-old Hugo Fairfax, is notorious throughout the fleet for being a moody recluse and a drunk. But with Stella he’s kind.

But the Rochester harbors secrets: Stella is certain someone is trying to kill Hugo, and the more she discovers, the more questions she has about his role in a conspiracy threatening the fleet.

Review

I first wanted to read this book because I thought it was a cool idea to retell a classic in space. I thought I'd read Jane Eyre but realized I hadn't but I was still able to get the general plot from this story and concluded that I'm not sure I even want to read the original work this is based on. Stella is a trained engineer that wants to teach but the way the world's set up she has to do both. This world considers unmarried women spinsters at the age of eighteen. I know I wasn't thinking about marriage at that age so, I'll take being a spinster if that's the case.

This story is a great idea but it seems to falter with the world building and character development. I just couldn't wrap my mind around why they were in space, like what really happened that they would need to be there? It was more telling me through the characters than showing me the history of how they got there. The main characters were young teenagers cast in an older shadow. The lives that they have chosen or inherited, eludes that they are older than they seem but their behavior shows their true age.

Overall, this wasn't a book that I loved but really wanted to. The pace was slow, the characters were hard for me to connect with their story. Overall, it has insta-romance, a little mystery and conspiracy set in space and some people may enjoy this one.

Friday, May 11, 2018

August and Everything After by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Title: August and Everything After
Author: Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
ISBN: 9781492657156
Release Date: May 1st, 2018

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Summary:
One last summer to escape, to find herself, to figure out what comes next. Fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han will love this contemporary, coming-of-age romance.

Graduation was supposed to be a relief. Except Quinn can’t avoid the rumors that plagued her throughout high school or the barrage of well-intentioned questions about her college plans. How is she supposed to know what she wants to do for the next four years, let alone the rest of her life? And why does no one understand that it’s hard for her to think about the future—or feel as if she even deserves one—when her best friend is dead?

Spending the summer with her aunt on the Jersey shore may just be the fresh start Quinn so desperately needs. And when she meets Malcolm, a musician with his own haunted past, she starts to believe in second chances. Can Quinn find love while finding herself?

Out of Left Field by Kris Hui Lee

Title: Out of Left Field
Author: Kris Hui Lee
ISBN: 9781492663850
Release Date: May 1st, 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Summary
There’s no playing it safe in love or baseball in this sparkling debut, perfect for fans of Morgan Matson and Kasie West.

Marnie has never had a hard time fitting in with the guys. It would take a lot more than their goofy antics to keep her from joining them at the neighborhood sandlot to do what she loves best: play ball.

An added perk of hanging out at the sandlot? Spending time with Cody Kinski, their high school’s star pitcher and Marnie’s best friend. Sure, he can be stubborn and annoying. He also knows how to make her laugh and respects her skills on the mound. And when he gets nailed in the arm by a bone-fracturing pitch, Marnie becomes the team’s best chance at making it to the playoffs. Except no one told the guys they’re supposed to be on her side.

With her own team against her, Marnie begins questioning her abilities. And when fate throws her a curveball, can she play without losing the game, Cody, and her belief in

My Sunday Post #62

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
I'm also linking up to Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Review this week.

I survived working overtime these past few weeks, barely. I had to go home two nights because I felt so bad. I didn't post anything last week because I just didn't feel up to it and I couldn't read either. Basically, getting out of bed was an accomplishment. I went to the doctor and they did some blood work and I was told my iron is a little low, so that contributes some to my being so tired. I've decided to put the "til Next Tuesday meme on hold for now since it takes so much time to just do one but I'll get back to it or maybe make it a once a month meme. On another note, I have cut back on requesting books but I did get two books that I'm really excited to read.