Discussion: Top 5 TBR

Photo credit: Goodreads

So while I haven't had as much time (or motivation, if I'm being honest) to read as I would like, as of late, and I'm hopelessly behind on my Goodreads reading challenge, I still do have a schedule of books I'm itching to dive into, as always. Because while the never-ending TBR list is overwhelming, some books I own eventually find their way to the top for more immediate reading.

My top five TBR right now includes:

1. A Gathering of Shadows & A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab. Technically I'm cheating by including both books, but I'm nearing the end of my A Gathering of Shadows re-read (because it is a re-read) anyway. Next up will be A Conjuring of Light because the whole point of re-reading AGOS was to have everything fresh in my mind for ACOL. And honestly, I'm just impressed I haven't run into ACOL spoilers yet. (*knocks on wood*)


2. Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller. I am super blessed because I managed to get my hands on a Mask of Shadows ARC which immediately leapt to the top of my TBR pile because I've been dying to get this book since I first sneakily heard about it before the publication announcement was up. Which is to say forever ago, or at least, it feels that way. But I have a copy, so you can bet I'll be reading this as soon as I'm done with the Shades of Magic trilogy. 


3. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee. Technically this isn't out yet but I have a pre-order and I figure it'll be out by the time I finish AGOS, ACOL, and Mask of Shadows. (Given how long I've been re-reading AGOS, it's a pretty safe bet.) Anyway! This is another I've been super excited about since I saw the pub announcement and I'm absolutely delighted it's been getting reviewed so well because I really want to love it. And judging by the sample I heard already, I'm sure I will. :D


4. The Girl From Everywhere & The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig. Cheating again with two books here, but like AGOS, my The Girl From Everywhere read is a re-read. I originally read TGFE way back in 2015 as an ARC, so I definitely want a refresher before I dive into my beautiful copy of The Ship Beyond Time. I expect it'll be a fun re-adventure. 


5. Wildcard. Obviously this isn't a book, but I'm letting myself cheat because technically I already have six books on this list. I'm not quite sure what I'll read after I get through this list, but I have a pretty large selection of unread books I own, so that won't be a problem. But I suppose it'll depend on my mood after I've read these books. Whatever I settle on, I'm sure it'll be excellent. :) 

What books are on your top five TBR?

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Vlog: 5 Books You Should Read

I've been doing lots of reading lately, and it's been a while since I've done a book recommendation vlog, so here we go! Five books I definitely enjoyed and you should all read ASAP. :)

RELATED LINKS: 

• SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo
• My review
• SWORD AND VERSE by Kathy Macmillan
• ON THE EDGE OF GONE by Corinne Duyvis
• THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig
• My review
• A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by V.E. Schwab
• My review
• How to Read More (vlog)
• 2016 YA Debuts I'm Excited About (vlog)
• Top 5 TBR Books (vlog)

What books have you read lately that you really enjoyed?

Twitter-sized bite:

Looking for some book recommendations? @Ava_Jae vlogs about 5 great books you should pick up. (Click to tweet)

Book Review: THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig

Photo credit: Goodreads

So when I initially first heard about The Girl from Everywhere back last year, I was insta-sold at "time-traveling pirates." Combine this with the beautiful cover and the fact that Heidi Heilig is a ridiculously wonderful person, and I knew I needed to read it ASAP.

Lucky for me, I temporarily got my hands on an ARC. And it was everything I'd hoped for and more.

Before I go on, here's the Goodreads summary:

"It was the kind of August day that hinted at monsoons, and the year was 1774, though not for very much longer. 

Sixteen-year-old Nix Song is a time-traveller. She, her father and their crew of time refugees travel the world aboard The Temptation, a glorious pirate ship stuffed with treasures both typical and mythical. Old maps allow Nix and her father to navigate not just to distant lands, but distant times - although a map will only take you somewhere once. And Nix's father is only interested in one time, and one place: Honolulu 1868. A time before Nix was born, and her mother was alive. Something that puts Nix's existence rather dangerously in question... 

Nix has grown used to her father's obsession, but only because she's convinced it can't work. But then a map falls into her father's lap that changes everything. And when Nix refuses to help, her father threatens to maroon Kashmir, her only friend (and perhaps, only love) in a time where Nix will never be able to find him. And if Nix has learned one thing, it's that losing the person you love is a torment that no one can withstand. Nix must work out what she wants, who she is, and where she really belongs before time runs out on her forever."

So 2016 seems to be a relatively big year for pirates in YA, which is lucky for us all because pirates are awesome, but this is the first time I've seen a story about pirates who travel through time and I loved it. 

Nix is Hapa (like the author) which was really cool to see, and she was also a really fun, spunky, and still sensitive protagonist. I connected with her quickly and really empathized with the way she tried to handle her complicated, messy situation. The dynamic she had with her dad, a drug addict obsessed with a single mission that could lead to Nix's not existing anymore, was real, raw and layered. 

Add Kash to the mix—the Persian, thief love interest—who very quickly jumped onto my favorite book boyfriends list, and an adorable dragon named Swag along with other quirky and memorable characters, and the cast alone made The Girl from Everywhere incredibly enjoyable. 

Then we get to the plot. While the timeline was a bit confusing at times (this is the kind of book, I suspect, you'll want to read more than once), the complicated magic and lush world building made it all worth it. I really enjoyed how the crew's travels wasn't limited to to just real places—they're able to travel to made up worlds as long as they have a map—and yet the rules to the magic system involved really made the whole system feel authentic and unique. As a bonus, the ARC I read had soooo many spots for maps to come—half of my excitement for the hard copy alone is just to see the gorgeous maps in all their splendor. 

All in all, The Girl from Everywhere hit it out of the park. If time travel stories and pirates are your thing, I really couldn't recommend this one enough. And even better—you won't have to wait very long because it releases February 16th.

Diversity note: The protagonist, Nix, is Hapa, one of the love interests, Kash, is Persian, one of the crew members is lesbian, another crew member is Chinese, and another is Sudanese. 

What have you been reading lately?

Twitter-sized bites:

.@Ava_Jae gives 5 stars to THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig. Is this time traveling pirate YA on your TBR? (Click to tweet)  

Looking for a clever pirate YA w/ a diverse cast? Check out THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig. (Click to tweet)

Top 4 Favorite Book Boyfriends

Photo credit: sarah gabriela on Flickr

So I’ve been doing lots of reading this year, which is very exciting and awesome and someone on Twitter suggested I write a post about my favorite book boyfriends. So, I mean, I couldn’t not.

Fun post, here we go:

• Nikolai Lantsov (The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo)
  
  So, I read Siege and Storm, which is the book where Nikolai makes his debut, two years ago. And I’m pretty darn sure he’ll always stay on my favorite book boyfriends list, because he has remained at the top ever since. And I mean, snarky pirate with A+ flirting skills and a heart of gold, so, like how could he not be?


• Kash (The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig)
  
  I am super lucky in that I got to read this book early (TGFE releases in February 2016!) but Kash, oh man. He leapt onto my list pretty much immediately. I guess I have a thing for pirates because he is indeed part of a pirate crew (though so is the protag) and he’s also a ridiculously good thief, and is snarky, and swoony, and so good and sweet and UGH Kash. I need more.


• Gabriel Boutin (Half Bad trilogy by Sally Green)
  
  It’s a little hard for me to talk about Gabriel without spoiling anything, but he very quickly exceeded my expectations and grew from minor character to character I desperately need good things to happen to. Crossing my fingers that said good things do indeed happen in Half Lost…


• Kenji Kishimoto (Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi)
  
  The funny thing about Kenji making this list is he’s not even a love interest in the series—but doesn’t matter! Because he’s been my favorite since he showed up in Shatter Me. Kenji is kind of the comic relief—so yes, he’s snarky—and he’s mostly hilarious and also just a wonderful character. If Kenji got his own book, I would totally read it. 

Who are your favorite book boyfriends (or girlfriends)?

Twitter-sized bite:

Who are your favorite book boyfriends or girlfriends? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

10 Diverse 2016 Books I’m Psyched About

Incredibly, 2016 is less than two months away (!!!) which means, of course, it's time to look forward to 2016 book releases! There are so many incredible books I'm looking forward to, but I thought it might be fun to highlight some books with diverse casts that I'm especially excited about. 

So here we go! 

Photo credit: Goodreads

This is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (January 5)

YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary:

"10:00 a.m. 

The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve. 

10:02 a.m. 

The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class. 

10:03  

The auditorium doors won't open. 

10:05 

Someone starts shooting. 

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival."

Diversity note: This is Where it Ends is a f/f story with PoC main characters. 

Photo credit: Goodreads

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin (February 2)

YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary: 

"The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl? 

Riley Cavanaugh is many things: Punk rock. Snarky. Rebellious. And gender fluid. Some days Riley identifies as a boy, and others as a girl. The thing is . . . Riley isn’t exactly out yet. And between starting a new school and having a congressman father running for reelection in uber-conservative Orange County, the pressure—media and otherwise—is building up in Riley’s so-called “normal” life. 

On the advice of a therapist, Riley starts an anonymous blog to vent those pent-up feelings and tell the truth of what it’s REALLY like to be a gender-fluid teenager. But just as Riley’s starting to settle in at school—even developing feelings for a mysterious outcast—the blog goes viral, and an unnamed commenter discovers Riley’s real identity, threatening exposure. Riley must make a choice: walk away from what the blog has created—a lifeline, new friends, a cause to believe in—or stand up, come out, and risk everything."

Diversity note: As you can see from the summary, Symptoms features a genderfluid protagonist—which I have literally never read ever. And I can't wait. 

Photo credit: Goodreads

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig (February 16)

YA Fantasy

"Heidi Heilig’s debut teen fantasy sweeps from modern-day New York City to nineteenth-century Hawaii to places of myth and legend. Sixteen-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end. The Girl from Everywhere, the first of two books, will dazzle readers of Sabaa Tahir, Rae Carson, and Rachel Hartman. 

Nix’s life began in Honolulu in 1868. Since then she has traveled to mythic Scandinavia, a land from the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, modern-day New York City, and many more places both real and imagined. As long as he has a map, Nix’s father can sail his ship, The Temptation, to any place, any time. But now he’s uncovered the one map he’s always sought—1868 Honolulu, before Nix’s mother died in childbirth. Nix’s life—her entire existence—is at stake. No one knows what will happen if her father changes the past. It could erase Nix’s future, her dreams, her adventures . . . her connection with the charming Persian thief, Kash, who’s been part of their crew for two years. If Nix helps her father reunite with the love of his life, it will cost her her own."

Diversity note: Nix, the MC, is Hapa, one of the love interests is Persian, and there's lots of Hawaiian mythology incorporated throughout. 

Photo credit: Goodreads

On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis (March 8)

YA Sci-Fi

Goodreads summary: 

"January 29, 2035. That’s the day the comet is scheduled to hit—the big one. 

Denise and her mother and sister, Iris, have been assigned to a temporary shelter outside their hometown of Amsterdam to wait out the blast, but Iris is nowhere to be found, and at the rate Denise’s drug-addicted mother is going, they’ll never reach the shelter in time. 

A last-minute meeting leads them to something better than a temporary shelter: a generation ship, scheduled to leave Earth behind to colonize new worlds after the comet hits. But everyone on the ship has been chosen because of their usefulness. Denise is autistic and fears that she’ll never be allowed to stay. Can she obtain a spot before the ship takes flight? What about her mother and sister? 

When the future of the human race is at stake, whose lives matter most?"

Diversity note: Quoting from Corinne Duyvis herself, “The protagonist is an autistic, biracial, part-Dutch part-Surinamese Black girl. The story also features a prominent bisexual trans Black girl, as well as lesbian, Muslim, and Jewish characters, among others.”

Photo credit: Goodreads

Out of Frame by Megan Erickson (In Focus #3) (March 15)

NA Contemporary

Goodreads summary:

"Perpetually shy, Quinn Mathers is content to remain in the shadow of his brash best friend Jess Hartman. But before their college graduation, he and Jess have planned one last hurrah: a spring break Caribbean cruise. 

And it won’t be just any cruise. On board are members of the reality show Trip League, which follows young twenty-somethings on adventures around the world. Since the show’s beginning, Quinn has been fascinated by J. R. Butler, with his amazing body, warm eyes, and killer grin. Unfortunately, he’s straight—or so the world thinks. 

At nineteen, J. R. signed a contract to play straight for the show, and there’s no way to get out of it now. Yet with each passing day, Quinn and J. R. find it harder to keep their hands off each other and to keep out of the camera’s frame. But when the lens finally focuses on them, J. R. must decide if he’s willing to risk his career by admitting his bisexuality, and Quinn must determine if he's bold enough to stand in the spotlight with the man of his dreams..."

Diversity note: This is the third book in Megan's awesome m/m NA series! Trust the Focus and Focus on Me have been some of my favorite NA romances ever. So. 

Photo credit: Goodreads

Half Lost by Sally Green (The Half Bad Trilogy #3) (March 29)

YA Fantasy

Goodreads summary:

"Nathan Byrn is running again. The Alliance of Free Witches has been all but destroyed. Scattered and demoralized, constantly pursued by the Council’s Hunters, only a bold new strategy can save the rebels from total defeat. They need the missing half of Gabriel’s amulet—an ancient artifact with the power to render its bearer invincible in battle. 

But the amulet’s guardian—the reclusive and awesomely powerful witch Ledger - has her own agenda. To win her trust, Nathan must travel to America and persuade her to give him the amulet. Combined with the Gifts he has inherited from Marcus, the amulet might just be enough to turn the tide for the Alliance and end the bloody civil war between Black and White witches once and for all…" 

Diversity note: Nathan, the MC, is biracial and (probably?) bisexual. Part of the love triangle in the series involves Gabriel.

Photo credit: Goodreads

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (May 3)

YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary:

"A big-hearted novel about being seen for who you really are. 

Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school. Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret. She's determined not to get too close to anyone. 

But when she meets sweet, easygoing Grant, Amanda can't help but start to let him in. As they spend more time together, she realizes just how much she is losing by guarding her heart. She finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself--including her past. But Amanda's terrified that once she tells him the truth, he won't be able to see past it. 

Because the secret that Amanda's been keeping? It's that she used to be Andrew. 

Will the truth cost Amanda her new life--and her new love?"

Diversity note: If I Was Your Girl features a transgirl protag! Which I am very excited to read. And kind of awesome fun fact: the model on the cover is also trans. :)

(no cover yet)

Timekeeper by Tara Sim (Fall 2016)

YA Fantasy

Goodreads summary:

"Every city in the world is run by a clock tower. If one breaks, time stops. It’s a truth that seventeen-year-old Danny knows well; his father has been trapped in a town east of London for three years. Despite being a clock mechanic prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but time itself, Danny has been unable to free his father. 

Danny’s assigned to a damaged clock tower in the small town of Enfield. The boy he mistakes for his apprentice is odd, but that’s to be expected when he’s the clock spirit who controls Enfield’s time. Although Danny and the spirit are drawn to each other’s loneliness, falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, no matter how cute his smiles are. 

But when someone plants bombs in nearby towers, cities are in danger of becoming trapped in time—and Enfield is one of them. 

Danny must discover who’s stopping time and prevent it from happening to Enfield, or else he’ll lose not only his father, but the boy he loves, forever."

Diversity note: As you can see from the summary, Timekeeper is an m/m time-travel fantasy. :D

Photo credit: Goodreads

Bad Boy by Leah Raeder (May 31)

NA Contemporary

No current Goodreads summary but it's a Raeder book so I'm excited as hell.

Diversity note: Features a transguy as one of the major characters—woot! Plus Raeder's books tend to have a very diverse cast in general, so I'm sure there will be other factors.

Photo credit: Goodreads

A World Without You by Beth Revis (July 19)

YA Contemporary

Goodreads summary:

"When 17-year-old Bo is sent to a school for troubled youth, he believes he’s actually at The Academy, a home for kids who, like Bo, have superpowers. There, he falls in love with Sofia, a quiet girl with a tragic past and the power of invisibility. 

But after she commits suicide, Bo is convinced that she’s not really dead, but stuck somewhere in the past, and it’s his job to save her. In her first contemporary novel, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis guides us through the mind of a young man experiencing mental illness and grief."

Diversity: Bo, the protagonist, has an unspecified mental illness.

What diverse books are you looking forward to that are releasing next year? 

Twitter-sized bite: 

What diverse books are you looking forward to that are releasing next year? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: 2016 YA Debuts I'm Excited About

2016 is nearly here! And there are a LOT of awesome YA debuts releasing next year, so I'm talking about five I'm extra excited for. Are these on your TBR list?

RELATED LINKS: 

• This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (1/5/16)
• Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin (2/2/16)
• The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig (2/16/16)
• Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie (3/1/16)
• Timekeeper by Tara Sim (Fall 2016)
• Beyond the Red by me (March 2016)
• All About Beyond the Red (Part 1) (vlog)
• Top 5 TBR Books (vlog)

What debut 2016 releases are on your TBR list?

Twitter-sized bites:

Looking for great 2016 YA releases to add to your TBR list? @Ava_Jae vlogs about 5 YA debuts she's excited about. (Click to tweet) 

What debut 2016 releases are on your TBR list? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)