Lindsay's Reads for 2013

2013 is going to be a fantastic year for first books and sequels alike! If I had to pick just one 2013 book that I'm dying to read, though, it would be Rachel Hartman's Dracomachia, the sequel to 2012's Seraphina--an achingly gorgeous and witty YA fantasy that's up for this year's Morris Award. Fortunately, there are plenty more books for me to devour:

Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood - Sequel to last year's lovely and fresh Born Wicked, continuing the trials and tribulations of the witchy Cahill sisters in a fascinating alternate-history version puritan America.

The Boy on the Bridge by Natalie Standiford - Soviet Russia, angsty romance, and Natalie Standiford's always brilliant prose. You know I'm all over that.

 The Secret Place by Tana French - agggghhh another Tana French murder mystery in Ireland you guys I can't even help myself.

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill - The Terminator meets The Time Traveller's Wife, with a dash of Mean Girls for good measure? SOLD.

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn - Promises a wonderful and complex male main character who is LITERALLY at war with himself.

 

I'm Going to Read in 2013....

Since I started working as an editor, my time to read has drastically lessened. Between reading submissions, working on projects -- most of which start coming out this fall! YAY! -- and writing, I don't really have a lot of time to read. HOWEVER, I'm excited because I've set up a reward system for 2013. I have a lot of books to write (Three. In one year. At least!) and since motivation is good, each time I finish a book, I get to spend a whole week - 7 days - reading books. Like, finished real books.

Currently, I'm drafting the sequel to Follow Me Through Darkness --which I have 0 words because we just decided to start over-- and I can't wait to finish it because I really want to read! These are some of the books I'm looking forward to reading this year!  (You can click on the covers to add them to Goodreads and see their descriptions!)

Some more titles without covers:

One by Leigh Ann Koponas
Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller
Game. Set. Match. by Jennifer Iacopelli
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

These are just a few of the titles I want to read. I couldn't list them all or no one else would have anything left! :) With so many awesome things coming out this year, I'm really glad I have my new plan.

What are some things you're looking forward to? 

Books to Tangle With!

 I am fortunate to have gotten plenty of reading done this summer! I had a hard time choosing just a few books to feature, but these are the ones with life-changing writing, jaw-cracking plots, and characters I'm dying to visit again.

FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS
Diana Peterfreund - Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

So, imagine a Jane Austen novel. Persuasion, if you know it. Okay? Now set it in a science fiction, post-post-apocalyptic environment with Luddites and genetic manipulation. Now throw in an aching tale of love lost and gorgeous, lush prose. I soaked up every page of this beautiful book, and I can't wait to see what Diana writes next.

THE MAGICIAN KING
Lev Grossman - Viking Adult/Penguin

I enjoyed Grossman's first entry into this series, The Magicians, which is kind of a grown-up, self-deprecating version of Harry Potter and the Narnia books, but didn't really felt it needed a sequel. I WAS SO WRONG. This sequel is the sequel to end all sequels. This book is a master class in brilliantly continuing and expanding on a world, weaving in new characters, enriching your writing, and so much more. Julia, a self-taught witch--a very minor character in the first book--completely steals the show here, chronicling her descent into underground witchery and the rabbit hole that Internet forums can often become, while the magical world of Fillory grows more sinister by the second. I cannot wait for the third book.

AURACLE
Gina Rosati - Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan

 Okay, astral projection stories may not be your thing, but there is so much more to this book than your typical paranormal adventure. When Anna's body is taken over by her freshly-dead classmate, Anna has to rely on her wits and brains (and her helpful, hunktacular aikido master BFF) to get her body back. Auracle deftly and cleverly handles death and other dark subject matter with a light touch, and has loads of fun while doing so.



 

Books to Tangle With: Part 2!

There were SO many books I wanted to read this summer. SO MANY. I might not have gotten to all of the ones I wanted, but I did read a few amazing books that I wanted to share with all of you. I'm not going to do as many as Danielle though, just a couple because I really didn't read many books this summer. :( But I had a great and busy summer nonetheless! :)

First up is Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols. This book is about a girl that has a less than stellar life and one escape from it all: flying little airplanes at the airport next to her trailer park. But when the owner--also her flight instructor--dies, Leah is left dealing with his two sons and hoping they don't close the business and take away the one thing she loves and works hard for.

This is one of those contemporary books (like Anna & the French kiss) that makes me

strive to write better with my contemporary. THIS kind of book is what pulls me back to contemps again and again. I like contemporary books anyway, but there are very few that make me stop and say 'this is how I want to write a book.' It was the way I related to the characters, the way you see them struggle and work past those struggles. This is one of those books that I found to be beautiful and tragic and sweet. I hope that if you read it, you'll love it as much as I did.

The next book I loved was Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. It's a fantasy

novel which isn't *usually* my cup of tea. However, I kept hearing people talk about this book

on twitter and decided, what the heck! This was when I had that reading funk where no book was keeping my attention enough for me to finish it. Not this one! I LOVED this book.

Throne of Glass is about a girl that's been raised as an assassin. The book starts out with her in a work prison--mining salt--when the prince gives her a proposition: be his champi

on in exchange for her eventual freedom. Celeana (the MC) has to compete in a contest to win the role of the King's royal assassin. While dealing with court life, dueling against other champion's and growing closer to the Prince--despite the way Captain Westfall seems to understand her better--something dark and dangerous starts killing the champions one by one. But Celeana's investigation leads her into more and more danger.

The reason I really loved this book is because the world was so well written and Celeana, although prickly and a bit violent sometimes, was someone I'd want to know. Because even though she leaned toward violence as a general defense mechanism, she was still a character that pulled you in. It was her brokeness that made her beautiful to me.

All that along with the mystery of who or what is killing the champions left me turning the page and got me out of my reading funk. I didn't want to put this book down. In fact, I bought all the little novella's on my kindle as soon as I finished and when I finally get some free time again I plan to devour those as well!

Books to Tangle With

You go in to every summer thinking THIS SUMMER I WILL READ ALL THE BOOKS. And you don't, especially when you are an editor. You, in fact, read all the manuscripts over and over again. Not that's it's bad, but when you *actually* get to read a "real book" (This is editor talk for a published book that I did not have to edit!) you savor every second. Though I only got tangled with a few "real" books, they were incredible!!!

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry       

Debut author, Katie McGarry, hit the market with  Pushing the Limits--a book that I was beyond excited for at BEA. And man, oh man, did it hit every mark.  Not only is the writing incredible, the characters are the BEST example of character development and the story is emotional in all the best ways.

I've made all my authors read this book because Katie crafted it beautifully. If you follow me on twitter, I push this book a lot. I think every person (writers especially) should read it. It's phenomenal. I don't really know what else to say about it except: GO READ IT. Like, now...

I feel like I can't say anything about that will do it justice. I will say that the jacket copy doesn't serve it well, because the story is so much more powerful and amazing than it sounds. How about this: I leave you a link to Amazon where you can buy it for yourself. :) You can also read all the amazing reviews, because the book bloggers say it better than I can. Trust me. It's THAT good. I'm not usually speechless about a book.

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

This is a book about a girl, Sloane, who planned to commit suicide the day the zombie apocalypse starts. Now, she has to decide if her life is worth fighting for. And man, it's a crazy ride. As always, Courtney Summers gave us this incredible, heart-wrenching backdrop of a contemporary world (one that I think she builds better than most) and then she throws in zombies. There's nothing not to love about this book.

You should read ALL of her books. The way she can make words dance is unparalleled.

*click here for amazon. You know you want to.*

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson      

A Peter Pan re-telling, but it's told from Tinkerbell's POV. It's a really unique re-telling, since the narrator isn't actively involved in the story. But, as a fan of fairy tales, I took a stab at it. The writing is beautiful, and Anderson breaks some of the basic rules of story telling, including show vs. tell. This has more telling,  since the narrator is not the MC, but I felt she handled it well. I loved the story, even though I'm still not 100% sold on the ending.

Also, that cover is gorgeous.

It's the reason we picked it up, and it was worth it.

*stares at cover on Amazon*

Freefall by Mindi Scott

I've had this in my TBR pile for a while now, and since I'm tackling that male voice,  I thought I'd pick it up.

Am I glad I did or what?!?

This story was captivating. The male POV carried the story in a real yet heartbreaking way. I never questioned anything, and it was fast-paced and believable. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I love when a book can do that to me!

I miss these characters. Seriously. I would read more about them, so you should meet them. (I just so happen to have a link!)

Everyday by David Levithan

"Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl."

(See! you're intrigued already aren't you? Yup. That tag line did me in too.)

Okay, something you should know: I read this book in three hours. I got home from BEA and looked at the three books I kept with me. This one kept calling to me, and it really set a high bar for the summer books.

THIS BOOK.

First, A is neither a boy or a girl, which is awesome. A just sort of is. A has a new body every day, and when A falls in love with Rhiannon, A will do anything to see her again.

Every Day is a fantastic, fantastic book. The love story is so unique, that you need to read it. It's powerful and different and beautiful. I read it June and I can still remember all the details--and more, the way I felt about all those details. It ruined me, in all the best ways.

It comes out on August 28, and you can pre-order it. Just don't miss it. Don't.



What have you read this summer?? Anything I should pick up that I may have missed?