This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.
The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is A Chorus Rises (A Song Below Water #20 by Bethany C. Morrow. The expected publication date is June 1, 2021.
Goodreads Synopsis:
The Hate U Give meets Shadowshaper in Bethany C. Morrow’s A Chorus Rises, a brilliant contemporary fantasy set in the world of A Song Below Water.
Teen influencer Naema Bradshaw has it all: she’s famous, privileged, has “the good hair”— and she’s an Eloko, a person who’s gifted with a song that woos anyone who hears it. Everyone loves her — well, until she’s cast as the awful person who exposed Tavia’s secret siren powers.
Now, she’s being dragged by the media. No one understands her side: not her boyfriend, not her friends, nor her Eloko community. But Naema knows the truth and is determined to build herself back up — no matter what.
When a new, flourishing segment of Naema’s online supporters start targeting black girls, however, Naema must discover the true purpose of her magical voice.
Title: Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy #1) Author: Maggie Stiefvater Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBT Publisher: Scholastic Press Source: Purchased Format: Hardcover Release Date: November 5, 2019 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
The dreamers walk among us . . . and so do the dreamed. Those who dream cannot stop dreaming – they can only try to control it. Those who are dreamed cannot have their own lives – they will sleep forever if their dreamers die.
And then there are those who are drawn to the dreamers. To use them. To trap them. To kill them before their dreams destroy us all.
Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes out of his dreams and into his compromised reality.
Jordan Hennessy is a thief. The closer she comes to the dream object she is after, the more inextricably she becomes tied to it.
Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. Her brother was a dreamer . . . and a killer. She has seen what dreaming can do to a person. And she has seen the damage that dreamers can do. But that is nothing compared to the destruction that is about to be unleashed. . . .
Review:
Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. Dreamers can bring things into the real world from their dreams, but if the dreamer dies, the things they have dreamed will permanently go to sleep. Jordan Hennessey is a dreamer and a thief. The dreamers are also being hunted. Carmen Farooq-Lane is one of the hunters, who had a brother who was a dreamer and a killer. The dreamers must try to survive the hunters but also the killers that are only found in their dreams.
This story had Maggie Stiefvater’s beautiful poetic language. The rhythm of the sentences almost made it feel like I was in a dream while reading it. There are so many small scenes that seem unrelated to the plot at first, but they end up having an important clue or introducing an important character. I think you could read this book over and over and notice new things every time.
This book is the first in a trilogy that is based on The Raven Cycle. Ronan was one of the main characters in The Raven Cycle. Ronan is a complex character who could probably fill multiple book series with his extensive history as a dreamer. This story mentioned some of the things that happened in The Raven Cycle, but I would recommend reading The Raven Cycle before this one, so that you have the background of the characters.
I loved this book! The second one in the series comes out in a couple of weeks, so I can’t wait to read it!
What to read next:
All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater
Swamp Thing: Twin Branches by Maggie Stiefvater, Morgan Beem (illustrator)
Have you read Call Down the Hawk? What did you think of it?
Title: Dark One, Vol. 1 Author: Brandon Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy Publisher: Vault Comics Source: Diamond Book Distributors via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: May 18, 2021 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Visions of a dark and fantastic world haunt Paul Tanasin, but when he discovers they are prophecies from Mirandus–a world in which he’s destined to become a fearsome destroyer–He’ll have to embrace the fear, rise up as The Dark One, and shatter everything.
Review:
Paul Tanasin is haunted by visions of a girl who claims to be his sister. He is sent to therapy but he can’t explain what is going on. One day he is captured and brought to a fantasy world, Mirandus, where he is destined to be the Dark One. Meanwhile, his mother is a attorney representing a serial killer. This murderer has an unusual request that she hasn’t seen before, but she must do her best to give him what he wants. Both Paul and his mother must face their demons in the real world and in Mirandus.
I like it when fantasy stories begin in the real world and then transport the characters to a fantasy land. There were some hints that something greater was going on in Paul’s life when he was haunted by a girl claiming to be his sister. He was destined to fulfill his role in the “narrative” that the people of Mirandus had to follow.
This story had the narrative trope of the “chosen one.” When Paul reached Mirandus, he was told that he was meant to play a particular role there. It didn’t take long for Paul to start to fill in that role, even though he didn’t want to at first. If someone is told that they are something enough times, they start to believe it, whether it’s good or bad.
This graphic novel finished on a cliffhanger so I’ll have to read the next one!
Thank you Vault Comics for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
White Sand, Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson, Rik Hoskin, Julius Gopez
Have you read Dark One, Vol. 1? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished Dark One, Vol. 1 by Brendan Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading Dark One, Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Visions of a dark and fantastic world haunt Paul Tanasin, but when he discovers they are prophecies from Mirandus–a world in which he’s destined to become a fearsome destroyer–He’ll have to embrace the fear, rise up as The Dark One, and shatter everything.
Title: A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology Author: Dhonielle Clayton (editor) Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, LGBT, Short Stories Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers Source: Purchased from Owlcrate Format: Hardcover Release Date: December 8, 2020 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes a young adult fantasy short story collection featuring some of the best own-voices children’s authors, including New York Times bestselling authors Libba Bray (The Diviners), Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic), Natalie C. Parker (Seafire), and many more. Edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles).
In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.
AUTHORS INCLUDE: Samira Ahmed, Libba Bray, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Natalie C. Parker, Rebecca Roanhorse, Victoria Schwab, Tara Sim, Nic Stone, and a to-be-announced debut author/short-story contest winner
Review:
This is a collection of fantasy and science fiction stories written by diverse authors. These stories had characters of a variety of races, religions, and gender identities.
I used to think that I didn’t like short stories because the ones I read in school were literary and complicated to understand. If I had been introduced to collections like this book when I was younger, I would have read many more short stories before now!
Two of the stories are from the worlds of fantasy book series. The Scarlet Woman: A Gemma Doyle Story by Libby Bray is from the Gemma Doyle series. A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab is from the Shades of Magic series. I’ve only read the Shades of Magic series, so it was fun to see this story from before the events of the series. I really want to read the Gemma Doyle series after reading that story.
I enjoyed all of these stories. I would read any of them if they were expanded into a full length novel. I had only read a handful of these authors before. I will definitely be reading more of the authors that were new to me.
I highly recommend this collection to YA fantasy and science fiction readers!
What to read next:
Vampires Never Get Old; Tales With Fresh Bite by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker (editors)
Fresh Ink: An Anthology by Lamar Giles (editor)
Have you read A Universe of Wishes? What did you think of it?
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