I read a whopping number of books last year. Like, the final tally was probably somewhere close to 200. And out of the dozens upon dozens of books, do you know which one stood out to me the most? Juliet Marillier’s Dreamer’s Pool. It should come as no surprise then, that its sequel Tower of Thorns is hands down my most anticipated novel this fall. Heck, most anticipated novel this year. We’re talking, if there’s one book I need to read in 2015, THIS. IS. IT. So, please understand now when I say I need a moment to pull myself together. I’m still trying desperately to come up with the words to describe how I felt about this novel, without coming off as a gushing, fangirly lunatic. After all, it’s not every day that I get to read a book that I’ve been dying for, only to have that book exceed all my expectations. What can I say? Tower of Thorns, you were utter perfection. Juliet Marillier, you are truly amazing. Yeah, that whole trying-not-to-be-a-gushy-fangirl thing. Not really working out, is it? Let me start again, all proper-like this time. Tower of Thorns is the direct sequel to Dreamer’s Pool….

Mystic is very much a coming of age, perhaps somewhat standard fare for a young adult novel. And maybe you could say the story, in some ways, was predictable. But you know what? I don’t care. I found the characters refreshing, I wanted to read their experiences as they venture through this story. So, regardless of anything that felt familiar, I still really enjoyed it (remember, sometimes familiar is fun when the story is told well). Mystic is a book to immerse yourself in, in a way that makes you feel you can join the adventure as it unfolds on the page. It is very much a character driven story and the reader’s connection with Pomella is crucial to make this work. Luckily, I found Pomella very intriguing and wanted to root for her the entire time. Even though this is a character driven story, the magic in it is also very cool. The Myst is the magical force/entity/power in which “magic” lives. This type of magic feels natural, like part of the earth and environment, but only select people have the ability to access and manipulate it. Honestly, I loved the Myst and how those who could call on…

Last year, I became a big fan of Cassandra Rose Clarke after reading her adult novel debut The Mad Scientist’s Daughter, an emotional tale about love, loss and androids that shattered my heart to pieces and left me pining for more. So ever since I learned about her new book Our Lady of the Ice, I have been counting the days. Its premise sounded captivating too, a mystery drama unfolding inside a city encapsulated by a glass dome, the only protection against the frigid darkness of an Antarctic winter raging outside. The novel also features an intriguing cast. Eliana Gomez is a female PI, taking on as many jobs as she can in the hopes of scraping together enough money to get out of Hope City and head for the mainland. Her boyfriend Diego Amitrano is the adopted son of and right-hand man of Ignacio Cabrera, the city’s most notorious crime boss. Lady Marianella Luna is an Argentinian aristocrat and the celebrity face of an independence movement to build agricultural domes, a project which would help free Antarctica from the control of the mainland. Last but not least is Sofia, an android fighting for a different kind of freedom, envisioning Antarctica as…

I was lucky enough to land one of the nifty hardcover ARCs of Illuminae, and that made all the difference in my reading experience. This is definitely a book you’ll want to read in physical form, although I’d love to hear from someone who’s read the digital version, and whether or not it works in that format. As many other reviewers have noted, half the fun of this book is the way it’s presented, a smorgasbord of epistolary goodness in the form of email exchanges, illustrations, video surveillance footage summaries and much, much more. The entire book is framed as a file compiled by the mysterious Illuminae Group, which provides proof of the horrific events that began with an attack on the small ice planet Kerenza and ended with the destruction of thousands of people. Little by little, the reader begins to piece together the characters involved and the events that took place on a fleet of ships comprised of the battlecarrier Alexander, the science vessel Hypatia, and the freighter Copernicus. Kady Grant and Ezra Mason are high schoolers living on Kerenza when the planet is attacked by a corporation called BeiTech, and in the confusion of the attack, they…

  The Bloodforged carries The Bloodhound series further into conflict and gives the reader another fun and exciting adventure as this series continues to be a captivating and fun page turner that flies by. There are challenges that are physical, political and strategic. There are moments of romance and heartbreak. The whole book almost seems to be an emotional rollercoaster as the characters are desperate and driven to extremes to try and survive and stop this war. This book does have a decidedly darker tone to it than the first. It also does not have quite as strong of a romance aspect. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there is still some romance and a couple of heated moments between characters, but it takes more of a side seat in this compared with the strong love triangle that was in the first book. This allows the book to get more into the war, it also makes room for a few new characters. While I really enjoyed the romance in the first book, I will admit I also enjoyed it not being as prominent in this book.  The story in The Bloodforged challenges many characters to step out of their comfort zones and to step up their…

A lot of the books that I’m excited for in 2015 are actually releasing quite late this year, so as we sauntered into fall and said good bye to summer, I was getting ready to say hello to a couple of my most anticipated titles. Shadows of Self was most definitely near the top of that list. I’m a big fan of Brandon Sanderson, and I absolutely loved The Alloy of Law – probably more than all three books of the original Mistborn trilogy put together, so small wonder that I was really looking forward to this follow-up. If there’s one thing I can never resist, it’s a good Fantasy meets Western setting. Three centuries after the events at the end of The Hero of Ages, the world of Mistborn has transformed into something altogether different. We’re on the cusp of an era similar to the industrial revolution, and all around are new inventions giving rise to mild hints of steampunk. On the outskirts of the built-up city of Elendel is a dusty, lawless territory known as the Roughs, where our protagonist Lord Waxillium Ladrian made his name as a lawman-for-hire. Magic, however, is alive and well. Allomancy and Feruchemy…

The nitty-gritty: A sprawling adventure story filled with airships, magic crystals, military maneuvers and talking cats. Yes, I said talking cats! Despite the fact that it took me two weeks to read The Aeronaut’s Windlass, I had so much fun. This was my first Jim Butcher book, and I can see why he’s so popular. His storytelling is exciting and his characters practically jump off the page. No doubt my rating would be higher had the book been shorter, simply because there was just too much of it. But despite some slow spots and a few personal issues I had with Butcher’s writing (which I’ll get to later), I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Readers who love military proceedings and battles at sea are going to love this book. And although the story doesn’t take place at sea, but in the air, it still had the feeling of a rollicking sea adventure. The story revolves around several groups of main characters. Captain Grimm is the commander of the merchant ship Predator and reports to the Spirearch of Albion. Spire Albion and Spire Aurora are at war, and after Grimm’s airship sustains major damage in an attack, Grimm reluctantly agrees to head up a…