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Top Ten Tuesday | Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2019

~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ Leave a comment

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and allows us to combine our love of books with our love of lists. This week’s topic is, “My Most Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2019”.

  1. Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManis
    This may or may not be cheating because it came out today, but I’m still including it because I can’t wait to read it! I’ll be starting it as soon as I finish The Poppy War. I’d start it now, but I promised myself that I wouldn’t do the thing where I read multiple books at a time this year because it never ends well.
  2. The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1), by Roshani Chokshi
    This one has mystery and secret societies. Also, Roshani Chokshi wrote it. That’s enough to make me want it in my life!
  3. King of Scars (Nikolai Duology #1), by Leigh Bardugo
    It’s set in the Grishaverse! Need I say more? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go read Six of Crows!
  4. The Dragon Republic (The Poppy war, #2), by R.F. Kuang
    I’m in the middle of The Poppy War right now, and I can already tell that I am going to need the sequel in my life!
  5. How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow
    I’ll read literally anything Kathleen Glasgow writes after reading Girl In Pieces. Also, that title is brilliant!
  6. Tunnel of Bones (Cassidy Blake, #2), by Victoria Schwab
    This is the sequel to City of Ghosts which I absolutely adored. Also, Victoria Schwab wrote it, and I’ll read anything she writes!
  7. The Bone Charmer by Breeana Shields
    The title is enough to make me want to read this one. Also, there are psychics!
  8. Nocturna by Maya Motayne
    This one has shape shifters, and mobsters, and forbidden magic! Enough said!
  9. Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1), by Emily A. Duncan
    First of all, the title is intriguing. Also, there is magic, and murder, and a girl who can talk to gods!
  10. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
    This is not the kind of thing I would normally read, but Angie Thomas made it onto my “Must Read Everything List” with The Hate U Give.

Top Ten Tuesday | The Best Books I Read In 2018

~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ Leave a comment

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and is designed to combine two great things: books and lists. This Week’s topic is…

The Best Books i Read In 2018

  1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
    This was one of the first books I read in 2018. The story is simultaneously heartbreaking and beautiful, and it lends a lot of perspective to the issue of racial discrimination in our society. If you’ve been putting off reading this like I did for a long time, stop it, and go read it now! You will not regret it!
  2. Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody
    I’m gonna be honest… I don’t really remember much about this book, but I rated it four stars on Goodreads, and I do remember being absolutely enthralled with the writing as I listened to the audio book and packed up my life to move to college. It has pretty writing, and gambling, and a crazy magic game played with Tarot cards, okay! You should all go read it, and tell me how it ends so I don’t have to reread it before starting the second book! Just kidding… I actually want to reread it.
  3. The Belles (The Belles #1) by Dhonielle Clayton
    Once again, I really do not remember the ending to this book… I’m starting to realize that I retained very little of what I read during the first few weeks of school, and I foresee a couple of rereads in 2019! I do remember absolutely adoring the characters, plot, and writing style, and the only note for it in my book review notebook is, “Think Hunger Games meets Uglies“, so if you’re into that, you should read this!
  4. The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
    This book has crazy royal fairies and murder! also, Holly Black wrote it! Need I say more?
  5. The Hazel Wood (The Hazel Wood #1) by Melissa Albert
    This book features a book full of dark and twisted stories that turn out to be real! Enough said!
  6. City of Ghosts (Cassidy Blake, #1) by Victoria Schwab
    This book seems to be targeted at a middle-grade audience rather than my typical young adult genre, but I still love it, and I gave it five stars. I absolutely adore all of the characters, it made me laugh several times during a super crazy time in my life, and I will never turn down a book about ghosties!
  7. A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1) by V.E. Schwab
    This was another five star read even though there is an aspect of it that simultaneously enrages and entertains me. This book is pretty dark, but it also had me laughing at several points. I don’t want to say much more about it here because I plan to review it in great detail later.
  8. The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia
    Okay, so, the romance plot in this book is gag-inducing instalove, but it’s still adorable. Also, there is a car thieving ring and illegal street racing which automatically makes it awesome! Oddly, I remember reading this on the way to my high school graduation whilst unable to breathe through my nose due to a sinus infection. I’m pretty sure that’s the weirdest reading situation I’ve been in this year.
  9. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
    This book almost made me cry, so it automatically earned four stars for evoking so much emotion in my heart of stone. The story is simultaneously beautiful and sad, and… I don’t actually remember if it ended happily or not, but you should read it…
  10. Heartless by Marissa Meyer
    Okay, I actually DO remember the ending of this book, and it ripped my heart out!!!! Like I nearly cried, and that doesn’t happen! It had me laughing up until that point though, and I still gave it five stars because speaking as a writer, that plot twist was brilliant!

Top Ten Tuesday | Most Anticipated Fantasy Books On My TBR List

~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ Leave a comment

Top Ten Tuesday is a book meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is “books from X genre that you’ve recently added to your TBR list”. I am choosing to list my top ten most anticipated fantasy books because fantasy is basically all I read…

  1. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
  2. Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger
  3. Heartless by Marissa Meyer
  4. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
  5. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
  6. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
  7. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
  8. The Midnight Sea by Kat Ross
  9. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
  10. The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

Top Ten Tuesday | Things That Make Me Instantly Want to Read a Book

~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ 2 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week it’s about things that make you instantly want to read a book!

  1. If there’s magic involved, I’ll probably read it without question. I especially love books with super unique magic system like the one in Daughter of Smoke and Bone.
  2. Myths/legends from other cultures like those found in Fear the Drowning Deep.
  3. Royal people fighting to take over the throne, (preferably with magic!) 😉
  4. Assassins because they’re sneaky, and sometimes they throw daggers, and I just love them! I mean I love them in books, NOT real life! I would NOT want to meet an assassin in real life!
  5. Any kind of psychological illness!
  6. Bad boys with deep, dark secrets who actually turn out to be good. So what if it’s a giant trope?!
  7. Diverse characters like those in Tiny Pretty things.
  8. I’ll read pretty much anything about angels.
  9. Awkward, preferably writerly characters because they’re just so relatable! Fangirl, anybody?
  10. I will read literally anything by Rick Riordan or Maggie Stiefvater because they have never failed to tell an amazing story. In other words, go read The Raven Cycle right now because you are missing out on great literature if you haven’t!