Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a really great meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. 

Today's Topic? 

Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR List

Spring (n.): One of the four season of the year; usually entails the cutest darn baby animals you've ever seen in your entire life, more flowers than there are stars, allergies, allergies, and more allergies, the weather you've been waiting all freaking year for, and, of course, brand new books! 



Here are the top ten books on my to-read list for this year's spring time:

1. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare: Spring is all about new things, right? Well...this BRAND NEW series in the Shadowhunter chronicles should be perfect for spring reading!

2. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski: With no particular relation to the spring time, I just really need to get my hands on this book. I loved her other novels, and now, it's time for me to devour this one. It just happened to be released around spring. 

3. The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore: Birds are springy. They fly around and tweet their little (slightly annoying) bird songs. Why not read a book that references feathers in the title? 

4. The Heir by Kiera Cass: I have to, I have to read this book. Now. Right now. I might be subjecting myself to an onslaught of thorougly addicting books/romances, but I am so ready for it.  

5. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty: I smell realistic fiction with a side of juicy romance. What could be more perfect for the spring? 

6. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys: I love me some real good historical fiction. Salt to the Sea is not only historical, it's Ruta Sepetys historical, which, to me, is one of the best kinds.
7. Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between by Jennifer E. Smith: So, no, there is never a time when romance is not appropriate. But, during the spring time, it's even MORE appropriate. And Jennifer E. Smith is just too cute. Plus, might I just say, her book titles are to die for.
8. Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider: I adored the Beginning of Everything, and even if this story isn't as happy-go-lucky as some of the other picture-perfect spring reads, a story about second chances and learning to love is just fine for this time of year.
9. The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick: Ah, the aforementioned picture-perfect spring read. What else can I say?
10. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard: The first was so good, I just couldn't deny myself the pleasure of reading the sequel. Reading this as soon as possible is high on my list of spring to-dos.

The Winner's Curse Review

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Title: The Winner’s Curse

Author: Marie Rutkoski

Series: The Winner’s Trilogy #1

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Publication Date: March 4, 2014

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 355

Format: Hardback
goodreads

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction.

Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

“He knew the law of such things: people in brightly lit places cannot see into the dark.”

I should really stop reading the first book of a series right after it’s released. That should stop. Because, seriously? Now I have to wait a whole eight months before the sequel comes out. You think I would've learned by now, but no.

Kestrel is the daughter of a warlord, forced into a life she doesn't want. Arin is a slave, one of the conquered race that is now forced into labor. Their epic story begins when Kestrel buys Arin at a slave auction on a crazy impulse, not knowing the dark secrets Arin brings along with him. When secrets are revealed and a revolution begins, they are forced apart, even more than they were before. Will they ever be able to find a way back to each other again?

“Music made her feel as if she were holding a lamp that cast a halo of light around her, and while she knew there were people and responsibilities in the darkness beyond it, she couldn't see them. The flame of what she felt when she played made her deliciously blind.”

This book was fantastic. The characters were complex and intricate and the plot was even more so. Of course, the book ends just as its getting good. Instead of fading into black like how books are supposed to, this one reaches the epitome of the story line, and just ends. Just. Ends.

Besides the obvious problem of the Mt. Everest of cliffhangers, I would read this book again. And again. And again. It was that good. The romance? Perfecto. The plot? Suspenseful and enthralling. If you loved Graceling by Kristin Cashore, this book is more than just a must read for you. It is a have to read.  

Everything about this book was perfectly perfect. I loved the setting and the conflict. It was impossible to put it down. Reading this book was all I wanted to do. One piece of advice? Read it when the sequel is out.

“‘Happiness depends of being free’, Kestrel’s father often said, ‘and freedom depends on being courageous.’”

The Winner’s Crime

March 3, 2015