Waiting on Wednesday: A Million Junes by Emily Henry

Here is where I share with you my anticipation for upcoming books! Breaking the Spine has introduced me to this and I am super excited to get to participate. Please feel free to comment what books you are looking forward to as well!!

Synopsis: Romeo and Juliet meets One Hundred Years of Solitude in Emily Henry's brilliant follow-up to The Love That Split the World, about the daughter and son of two long-feuding families who fall in love while trying to uncover the truth about the strange magic and harrowing curse that has plagued their bloodlines for generations. 

June O'Donnell—a.k.a. Junior, a.k.a. Jack, a.k.a. Jonathan O'Donnell IV, a.k.a. the first female O'Donnell first-born—has always been haunted by her family's mythic but complicated legacy. As she prepares to begin her final year of high school, June is itching to leave behind her ghosts in Five Fingers, Michigan, and travel the world.

And then, just like it always happens to the O'Donnells, a painful glimmer from her past returns to mess everything up. Enter Saul Angert, the eldest son of Eli Angert, a.k.a. June's late father's mortal enemy, back in town from a prestigious writing program to care for his ailing father. June can't seem to avoid Saul, whose very presence makes her ache with grief over her father, and soon the unthinkable happens: She finds she doesn't exactly hate the gruff, sarcastic, and strangely tender boy whom she was born to loathe.

When June and Saul accidentally stumble into a bit of the forest magic, they are allowed a glimpse into the past at the fateful, horrible moment that started all the trouble between their families. Now June doesn't know if this new discovery means she should hate the Angerts even more or if it's finally time for her—and all of the O'Donnells before her—to let go.

For those of you who know me very well, you'll know that The Love That Split the World is my favorite book of 2016. TLTSTW resonates with me on a level that is unparalleled by practically any book. There was something so special in Emily Henry's debut novel, that literally all I wanted to do after reading it was to reread it over and over. Next to Legend by Marie Lu, TLTSTW is that one book I will recommend to everyone when they ask for it. The point of this post is not to gawk and gape at TLTSTW, so if you would like to read my review for that, you can find it here, but besides that - A Million Junes!!

I've been anticipating another Emily Henry book since the moment I finished tltstw and now, we are one step closer to have just that. They just released the cover for this book last week, so we can finally say yes, we are getting another book soon. After reading that this book is pitched as Romeo and Juliet meets One Hundred Years of Solitude, my immediate reaction was yes more magic realism with a cute romance thank you. I love the cover, I love the synopsis, I love Emily Henry, and I cannot wait for this book any longer. 

A Million Junes arrives May 16th, 2017!! 

ARC Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalo

4.5/5 Stars

Published September 20th, 2016

Published by Jimmy Patterson

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

This beautiful book was such a refreshing read. From the moment I began the story, I was sucked in by the relatively dark theme and Kerri Maniscalo's wonderful writing. While I was reluctant to reading this book at first, as I am not usually a fan of guts and gore, I was so happy with what I got in return. Stalking Jack the Ripper was full of nothing but action, mystery, and chill wreaking late night adventures. This idea of writing a retelling on Jack the Ripper and his notorious murder cases is just plain genius and the basis for a stunning debut novel. Kerri whipped out surprise after surprise, and clue after clue of just pure psychotic deliciousness. I'm definitely looking forward to this sequel and cannot wait to see what Kerri has in store for us and these characters.

I would just like to take this moment to applaud all of the debut authors of 2016, because they have been knocking my socks off. It is unbelievable to think that so many of my favorite books of this year have been debuts - it is astounding. Kerri's writing style is so nice. The words are effortlessly written and stylized in a way that truly captures the essence of the plot or emotions she tries to bring across. Straight from the beginning, you're snagged by her enticing catch lines and descriptive imagery. It is so obvious how much research went into this topic. Everything is layered with such a specific precision, that it's almost impossible to find fault in the storyline, and more importantly, in the mystery. I'm currently enrolled in a professions of medicine course at my college and will soon be covering forensic medicine, which I am now so excited about because of Stalking Jack the Ripper. It's so interesting to read about Audrey and her uncle investing so much time into this practice, and to touch base with a bit of real life techniques.

These characters are so dang cool. I am a sucker for the practice of medicine, as are Audrey and Thomas, and it was just so fun to read about medicine through their eyes. Audrey is my type of main character. She's an independent, intelligent, sharp-witted, complete badass female MC and I love her. Despite the time period in which this takes place (when women weren't prominent in the work place), Audrey still goes out and practices forensics. This is that type of girl-meets-STEM that I need. In addition to Audrey, we our lovely Thomas. He was such an awesome addition to this story. Thomas was able to bring out a playful side to Audrey that was hiding beneath her scalpel and multi toothed forceps. Thomas is witty, very vigilant, and a bit of a brooder, if I'm being honest. Despite his dark and mysterious demeanor, he and Audrey are the best team for the case. These two actually remind me a bit of Holmes and Watson. 

Stalking Jack the Ripper is a fantastic novel full of mystery, forensic sciences, and gory scalpels. I truly enjoyed every moment I spent reading this book and regretted every moment I delayed reading it because I thought it wasn't for me. With every flip of the page, you're met with dynamic characters, a thrilling plot line, beautiful writing, and even better than that - sutures of various techniques. If you're in the mood for a book that has the potential to keep you up until the break of dawn, with chills racing up your spine, then this is the one for you. With this start to an incredible trilogy (I believe it's a trilogy?), Stalking Jack the Ripper has the potential to shatter hearts and minds alike, and the NYT best sellers chart. I am so happy I've found myself a reliable female/STEM trilogy I'll be able to divulge in for remainder of the decade. 

Waiting on Wednesday: A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

Here is where I share with you my anticipation for upcoming books! Breaking the Spine has introduced me to this and I am super excited to get to participate. Please feel free to comment what books you are looking forward to as well!!

Synopsis: London's fall and kingdoms rise while darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire—and the fraught balance of magic blossoms into dangerous territory while heroes and foes struggle alike. The direct sequel to A Gathering of Shadows, and the final book in the Shades of Magic epic fantasy series, A Conjuring of Light sees Schwab reach a thrilling culmination concerning the fate of beloved protagonists—and old enemies.

I am currently in the middle of A Gathering of Shadows and I am loving this trilogy so far. There is something so refreshing to me about the premise of these stories. I love the magic, the characters, the world - everything about the Shades of Magic world is so wonderful. V.E. Schwab's writing is excellent in these books. She's great at building up her universe and keeping her readers engaged in the story, even when it's a slow burn. Even though I had trouble getting into This Savage Song, I loved A Darker Shade of Magic right off the bat. Plus, these covers are so pretty! 

A Conjuring of Light comes out February 21st, 2017 and I am so ready. 

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

4/5 Stars

Published by Tor Books

Published February 25th, 2015

Synopsis:  Kell is one of the last Antari, a rare magician who can travel between parallel worlds: hopping from Grey London — dirty, boring, lacking magic, and ruled by mad King George — to Red London — where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire — to White London — ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne, where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back — and back, but never Black London, because traveling to Black London is forbidden and no one speaks of it now.

Officially, Kell is the personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see, and it is this dangerous hobby that sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to take her with him for her proper adventure.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save both his London and the others, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — a feat trickier than they hoped.

This is the Victoria Schwab book I wish I had read first. This was everything I've ever heard of Victoria Schwab's writing. It was eloquent, illustrative, so captivating, and absolutely exquisite. I loved practically every aspect of this book and cannot believe it took me so long to read it. Schwab is incredibly good at world building and developing a slow burning storyline. Even though I've heard/read multiple comments on how A Darker Shade of Magic is a very slow paced book, I thought the release of information was dispersed at the appropriate times to keep the reader engaged. I, for one, did not feel that this book dragged on forever. I never wanted it to end. I would delay my reading time just so I could spend more minutes indulged in this world and with these characters. The slow burn made it intriguing - something that is very hard to do if you're not meticulous with your plot line.