Kiersten White Archives - Page 2 of 2

Top Ten Anticipated Reads For Early 2017.

Dec 13, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list that members at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone join as you please. This week’s topic is: Top Ten Books Anticipated Reads For The First Half Of 2017.

I am excited for quite a few books coming out next year. Most of the list today are sequels or new books in a series, that I cannot wait to get my hands on. 2017 is going to be a big year and I cannot wait. However, These books are in no particular order.

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare: I know I said that there was no order to my list, but I would be lying if I said Lord of Shadows wasn’t my most anticipated read. If you know me well, then you would know that I love Cassandra Clare. And after reading Lady Midnight this year, my love for her books and the Shadowhunter world has grown. Lady Midnight was her best yet and I cannot wait to see what Lord of Shadows brings | May 2017

Nova by Rebecca Yarros: I love Rebecca Yarros’ books, I don’t read a whole lot of NA, but her books are those I read without question. Nova is the sequel to Wilder which came out earlier this year. And by the way that it ended, Nova is going to be a wild ride | February

Breaking by Danielle Rollins: With the way that Burning ended, I know that I have to read Breaking as soon as I can. However, it’s only a companion novel so I am intrigued to see how it all pans out. I am guessing everyone is going to meet in the middle | June

The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig: The Girl from Everywhere was one of my favourite reads this year, and I cannot way to see where the next book takes us. However, just by reading the synopsis I know that we are in for a bumpy ride | March

Avenged by Amy Tintera: If you have read Ruined, then you know that the ending was one hell of a cliffhanger and it’s begging to be read. It’s everything that I love in a book and I am expecting great things from book 2 | May

Now I Rise by Kiersten White: Again another series that I started this year and loved, And I Darken was just the start. Set in the Ottoman Empire, with a gender switch of Vlad the Impaler. And I Darken was fierce, bloody and very complicated. I cannot wait to see what is next for Lada | June

Wires and Nerve VI by Marissa Meyer: I adored the Lunar Chronicles, they were fantastic. With a brilliant cast, it’s an addicting series. I cannot wait to see what they are up to in this new graphic novel | January

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor: I love Laini Taylor’s books. This one sounds magic and just as beautiful as her rest | March

Perfect by Cecelia Ahern: I was left with questions after finishing Flawed earlier this year and now I want them answered | April

Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology: Yes Please. Some of my favourite Aussie Young Adult author coming together and edited by Danielle Binks. | April

And that is it! What books are you looking forward to for the first half of 2017? Do we share any of the same? What is your anticipated read? Do you think I might like something that is coming out next year? Nevertheless, Let’s Chat!

You can find me on twitter at @angel_reads, Facebook, instagram, tumblr and Goodreads. You can also follow Angel Reads on Bloglovin and via email (in the sidebar).

Top Ten New To Me Authors 2016

Dec 6, 2016

When I saw the topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, I got excited for a couple of reasons.
1. I love finding out new authors.
2. I knew that I read quite a few new authors this year.
However, I didn’t realise just how many new to me authors that I had read. It came down to 48 – and that is

It came down to 48 – and that is a hell of a lot and made this week really hard to narrow it down to 10. But I did it, however, I had to break it up. There are no #LoveOZYA authors on this list simply because I want to do a different post for this. Anyway here are the top ten new to me authors that I read this year, in no particular order. Side note, these are new to me – they might have been published for years, but I have only read them this year.

Kiersten White: I have wanted to read Kiersten White’s books for a while now, but I am glad that I picked up And I Darken. I loved it, it’s what I love. I am so excited for Now I Rise, plus I am going to have to pick up some of her other books.

Jennifer Jenkins: I hadn’t heard of this author until a couple of months ago. but as soon as I finished Nameless, I had to read Clanless.

Josephine Angelini: I’ve been wanting to read the Worldwalker trilogy for quite some time. And I was finally able to this year. I cannot wait to read more. Trail by Fire, Firewalker, Witch’s Pyre.

Heidi Heilig: The Girl from Everywhere is one of my favourite books of the year. I adored it and I need book 2 – like now.

Leigh Bardugo: Six of Crows was one of those books that I knew I would love before I even read it. And that was totally true. I love Leigh Bardugo’s writing and beautiful setting.

Courtney Summers: I read 3 Courtney Summer’s books each year and loved them all. They are very hard to read and they will break your heart – but done so well.

Ruta Sepetys: Salt to the Sea has to be my favourite book this year – it killed me. I cannot wait to read more of her books. Which should I read next?

Lauren James: I cannot wait to see what else comes from Lauren James because I am 2 books down and loving it.

Danielle Rollins: I wasn’t in love with Burning, however as time goes on, I want to find out more.

Trish Dollar: The Devil You Know took me on a journey and I wanted to read more from Trish Dollar. What do you think I should read next?

And that is it for this week’s TTT. Who are some of your ‘new to me’ authors? Do we share any of the same? Do you recommend me any? Let’s Chat.

You can find me on twitter at @angel_reads, Facebook, instagram, tumblr and Goodreads. You can also follow Angel Reads on Bloglovin and via email (in the sidebar)

Book Review: And I Darken by Kiersten White

May 25, 2016

And I Darken by Kiersten White

Pages: 496
Publish date: June 28th 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House)
ISBN: 0553522310
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

And I Darken:

I received an e-arc of And I Darken by Kiersten White from Penguin Random House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

When I heard And I Darken I knew that I had to read it. A book set in an ancient country is always a plus for me. Then add a gender switch, so that we have a female Vlad the Impaler; yes please.

And I Darken follows siblings Lada and Radu as they try to survive in a cold and brutal world.

Lada was quite interesting, she is very brutal and has little to no remorse. Sometimes it was hard to connect with her nevertheless, I do understand why she was that way. She does have quite a bit of trust issues, but again the world she lives in; explains it all. Lada also doesn’t form relationships well, even with her own brother however, let’s just say that her father wasn’t the best in the world.

Radu on what a special snowflake. I wanted to cuddle him and make him my best friend. He has this nature about this that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone in a world where anyone wants to hurt everyone. He does become stronger throughout the novel, but at what cost?

Mehmend was very into his religion and that contributed to his character and how he saw the world quite a bit. He also has this nature about him, which was intriguing. He wants to be friends with Lada and Radu. However, there were things later in the novel that he did, that I didn’t like at all. It was heartbreaking.

The romance in And I Darken was problematic and quite a mess. There was a love triangle of sorts, with other people jumping in between and I am not the biggest fan of them. So that kind of was a downfall for me

This wasn’t just a romance between three people, but two siblings loving the same person – And I don’t know who deserved it more. They all had their issues and betrayed each other in so many different ways. There was no honesty and it did get on my nerves sometimes. But, like I said there was also so many other people.

The relationship between Lada and Radu was complicated. They never trusted each other, yet they were always there for each other. They never really loved each other, but they still care. Sometimes I wasn’t a big fan of the way that they treated each other. Though I did like it because I haven’t seen it before. It was tense from the get go and that played out throughout And I Darken.

The world of And I Darken is very interesting. It’s complex, but understandable. It’s kinds of base on the Ottoman Empire, but not. It was captivating and very different. The world building well thought out however, if people are not all that familiar with the history it might have been better to explain how everything ‘look’ landscape and city wise.

I loved that the characters were diverse in many ways from ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. It was also fascinating to see Islam in a fantasy/retelling/historical fiction.

And I Darken was also pretty gruesome, there are executions that are described and it’s not one – they are done is some horrible ways. There are some torture scenes, though we don’t ‘see’ these, but we hear them. The world is brutal – very much like the ancient countries.

Nevertheless I did have a problem with the pace of And I Darken. I felt that the plot was quite slow and nothing happened at all for a lot of the book – this could be hard for some people; but, I was immersed into the world that it didn’t bother me too much. This isn’t saying that things don’t happen – because there is a lot of shit that goes down. I felt that And I Darken was an introduction into the world and characters.

And I Darken tells a story of the lengths people would go to for love, approval and just the thought of being forgotten. It was captivating and dropped you into a vivid and brutal world that you might not want to get out off.