May TBR List

So April... not exactly what I would call a good reading month. But this May, I will be picking up lots of new books at the RT Booklovers Convention, and college will be ending and I'll have way more time to get some reading done at the end of the month. This is a list of four things that I plan on reading this month.

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - This has been on my TBR list for several months and this book cannot get here fast enough. This is the first book in a new series, and it is not related to Maas' Throne of Glass series. It is a high fantasy about fae and centers around a young woman who has to go live with this dude who really sucks IMO because she killed some other dude (murder has consequences, kids) but then she starts to fall for him and sexy times ensue. This is a New Adult spin on Beauty and the Beast and I need to get my tiny fingers on it ASAP. 
2. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins - I'm currently listening to the audiobook and I'm loving the book so far. It's got a contemporary tone but with fantasy elements, but not in a magic realism way. It's about a girl who is one of the "southern belle" types and on Homecoming night, a janitor gives her superpowers and now she has to protect this kid she hates from the people that want to kill him. 
3. The Lost Herondale by Cassandra Clare - This is the second ebook in the Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy series and I really just want to read it because it's a Shadowhunter book, not because it's about a Herondale (seriously, enough with the Herondales already). I don't know too much about what this one is about. There's, of course, the missing Herondale, which makes me think that this will just be about the legend of that Herondale, rather than the actual person. 
4. Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen - This is a book set in the 1920's and it centers around two best friends who move to New York City and get caught up with the wrong crowd as one of the girls searches for her father, who is probably a notorious alcohol smuggler. I love the 20's style, The Great Gatsby is my favorite classic, and I find stories about Prohibition to be interesting. Hopefully this book will live up to my expectations. 

That's the very small list of what I'm going to attempt to read this month! Bye now *flies off into the dark land known as Studying For Finals*

"Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy" Novella Review

Title: Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy
Series: Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy (Novella #1) and The Shadowhunter Chronicles
Author: Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 8 out of 10 possums in the wardrobe

*WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL SPOIL CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE*

What It's About: Simon Lewis has gone from being a mundane to a vampire to a mundane again and now he's training to become a Shadowhunter. He's lost his memories, and though a few of them are coming back, he doesn't remember this adventures, his heroics, or his friends. Simon is sent to the Shadowhunter Academy in Idris, where he's going to spend two years learning about Shadowhunter history and trying to become the hero he once was. This first novella introduces Simon and the reader to the Academy and the new cast of characters.

Recommended For: Fans of the Shadowhunter Chronicles

Review: I was not too thrilled with the Bane Chronicles because I felt like it was irrelevant to what was happening in the rest of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. But with The Shadowhunter Academy, we know that each story is going to tie into another part of the Shadowhunter books. I also feel like this series will be the perfect bridge between The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices. I really like the new characters. George Lovelace is Simon's roommate (who hopefully meets a better fate than Simon's last roommate) and he immediately jumps off the page, Catarina Loss is a warlock who works at the Academy and she's just as fun as the other warlocks we've gotten to know. The Academy is very rundown and gross and the food is terrible, and the Shadowhunters are still a bunch of racist pricks. I like that this two year journey isn't going to be easy for Simon. But the one thing I do not like goes back to City of Heavenly Fire. Taking Simon's memories makes this a lot less fun. I feel like when he's going through training and learning Shadowhunter history, it'd be a lot more fun if we saw him draw comparisons to his past experience with Shadowhunters. When he only knows a tenth of all that he went through, there are a lot of missed opportunities for inside jokes with the reader. And it makes his interactions with his old friends seem... off. I can't enjoy Simon talking to Isabelle because it's not really Simon. I should be jumping for joy when Izzy shows up and shouts at everyone that Simon is her boyfriend, but I can't. The amnesia plot device takes a lot more away from the story than it adds to it. But anyway, I'm definitely going to enjoy reading the rest of the ebooks as they come out, and each one will somehow tie into The Last Hours and The Dark Artifices, which can help boost both series and provide more background than we currently have.

Links:
Amazon
Goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday #1

Hello everybody! I’ve decided to start doing Top Ten Tuesdays (credit to the creators of this weekly tag: brokeandbookish.com)

Today’s topic is the Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR List

One thing you should know about me is that I’m not good at sticking to TBR lists (I have commitment issues, okay?) so this list is probably going to go 75% unaccomplished. But I still want to do the tag.

10) Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan - This is the first book of a series (or maybe just a duology) where Mr. Jackson tells you all about the Greek Gods from his perspective. I've already started it but I would like to finish it soon. Amazon Book Depository

9) Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout - I love Jennifer’s books, but I've had a lot of trouble finishing up her Lux series. I’ve been about a third of the way through the book since AUGUST and I really need to go ahead and finish it. Amazon Book Depository

8) World After by Susan Ee - I read Angelfall a year ago, and I really want to finish the sequel so that I can get my hands on End of Days (book 3) as soon as it comes out. Amazon Book Depository

7) Welcome to the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare - I’m hoping that the Tales For the Shadowhunter Academy ebook series will go better than Clare’s previous attempt at an ebook series, The Bane Chronicles. With TBC, I felt like it was detached from what was currently happening in the Shadowhunter Chronicles, but with the Shadowhunter Academy, it takes place right smack in between The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices and helps set up for not only The Dark Artifices but also The Last Hours (I feel like people that don’t read the Shadowhunter books are really confused by this entry) Amazon

6) Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor - This book is a collection of three short stories that revolve around kissing. I’ve finished the first two, but I’ve been putting off the last story for way too long. Amazon Book Depository

5) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir - This book is an upcoming release and it seems a bit complicated from the synopsis. Basically, it’s like a mash up of your typical “take down the man” dystopian, but mixed with high fantasy elements. As I, and a lot of other YA readers, transition from reading dystopians to reading high fantasy, I think this will be a good way to bridge that gap. Amazon Book Depository

4) Liars, Inc by Paula Stokes - This has not been released yet but it sounds so intriguing. It’s about a boy named Max who lies all the time and one day, his friend Preston is found murdered, with Max as the prime suspect. Not only do we have a moral story here (always tell the truth) but there’s going to be some Gone Girl-ish shenanigans because there’s an unreliable narrator. Amazon Book Depository

3) The Young Elites by Marie Lu - I LOVED her Legend series and I’m so excited to finally start The Young Elites. It’s the first installment of a fantasy series and I want to get through it before the sequel, The Rose Society, is released. Amazon Book Depository

2) The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon - This book is huge and I’ve had it on my shelf since last fall because I let myself be intimidated by its size. Amazon Book Depository

1) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas -This is a new series by Maas and I know that I’m going to be reading it the day it is released. It is a fantasy, new adult series about fey, and the first book is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Fey + new adult + Beauty and the Beast + being written by Sarah J. Maas is a recipe for greatness. Amazon Book Depository