Stacking the Shelves #141

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tyngs's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your  shelves, may they be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

We love sharing our books with you each week but more importantly we loving see what you add to your shelves. As always, clicking on a book title will take you to goodreads.

 

  

Six of Crows ~ Leigh Bardugo ~ From Publisher

The Queen of the Tearling ~ Erika Johansen ~ Bought

Two cracking reads this week we think!
So, what have you been buying? We're always on the lookout for more!

Stacking The Shelves #140

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tyngs's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your  shelves, may they be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

We love sharing our books with you each week but more importantly we loving see what you add to your shelves. As always, clicking on a book title will take you to goodreads.

  

The Box of Demons ~ Daniel Whelan, illustrated by Chris Riddell ~ Unsolicited from publisher

An Ember in the Ashes ~ Sabaa Tahir ~ gift from Michelle over at Much Loved Books
The Girl at Midnight ~ Melissa Grey ~ bought

Thank you to Michelle and Macmillan for my new books :)
How exciting has your bookish week been? Naturally I'm off to have a peek.

A new series by Laini Taylor is coming!

Good news if you were (like us) a fan of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor.  There's a new series coming!

The Muse of Nightmares is book one of a new series with the first instalment being released in Autumn 2016.  The following statement was released by Laini's publishers, Hodder and Stoughton:

Following the international success of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, Hodder & Stoughton will publish three new young adult novels by Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling fantasy author, Laini Taylor.

Kate Howard, Associate Publisher at Hodder, acquired British Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Jane Putch of Eyebait Management. The first book, The Muse of Nightmares, will be published in Autumn 2016 and is a fantasy young adult novel with a gothic flavour. Taylor describes it as follows: ‘There was a war between men and gods, and men won. The few surviving children of the gods have grown up in hiding, dreading the day they know must come: when humans find them, and end them. That day is at hand.’ The book will simultaneously release in the US from sister company Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Kate Howard said: ‘I am so thrilled to publish Sunday Times bestselling Laini Taylor’s new books across the UK and Commonwealth, starting with The Muse of Nightmares next Autumn. Laini’s imagination is second to none, the fantasy worlds she creates truly unique and I know that come Autumn 2016, The Muse of Nightmares will be the book everyone is talking about.’

Of The Muse of Nightmares, Taylor shared, ‘I’m excited beyond belief to have found the proper form, at last, for this story that’s been in my head for about two decades. I can’t say much about it, but I’ll say this: it’s about otherness, and yearning to belong in a place you never can. I can only hope that readers will respond to these new characters with the same passion as they have to Karou and Brimstone, Prague and Eretz.’

The widely acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy, for which Universal Pictures acquired film rights (with Joe Roth set to produce), is currently available in thirty-three languages. Of her experience meeting fans internationally, Taylor said, ‘The reception of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy has been and continues to be a dream come true. I’m blown away by the incredible fan art, cosplay, and tattoos from readers all around the world, who give the books new life and new dimensions every day. Fantasy readers are the best.’

The write up on this already looks amazing and we can't wait to find out more!  The only downside is the more than a year long wait! You can also get involved on twitter using the hashtag #MuseofNightmares

In short prepare yourselves people, it looks like we've got ourselves another mega series on the way!

Chris Riddell: Children's Laureate 2015-2017

Imaged sourced from The Independent
Riddell quotes taken from the Waterstones Laureate post
Sketches are copyright of Chris Riddell

I think by now the world knows that Chris Riddell is the new Children's Laureate but we just wanted to say our own congratulations here at Midnight Reads. 

Being an ex-Waterstones Children's Bookseller Bungle has always been championing the laureate position. She is still working with children's books for a company who supply to schools and teachers up and down the country as well as over seas. The laureate position is something that features largely in her everyday work life. She had a gut feeling Chris Riddell was to be the new Children's Laureate and was more than a little excited when it was finally officially announced, she actually ran round the book centre telling everyone.

It's easy to think Riddell is the first illustrating laureate but let's not forget Quentin Blake and Anthony Browne came before him and they are some mighty artistic shoes to fill. What sets Riddell apart is that his images appeal to a new generation of reads and budding illustrators. And his five point plan is what is needed in schools:~

Riddell was handed the laureate batton by the fabulous Malorie Blackman who in her two year term started the Young Adult Literature Convention which was exactly what this country needed. She also helped start Project Remix, was involved with pushing libraries and promoting a love of reading. In Riddell's two years he is naturally focusing on the art of drawing, he says, "During my term I want to use the immediacy and universality of illustration to bring people together and lead them all into the wonderful world of books and reading".

Working with schools, school libraries and teachers Bungle, as well as schools everywhere, is excited by Riddell's plan to promote a love of reading for pleasure and to celebrate school libraries: "It's surely bizarre that it is not a requirement for the very places where children will learn how to read, draw, think and create to have a space for books. I want to help and encourage every school to do more for readers: if they have nowhere to read, create a space with a few books; if they have a bookshelf, have two; if they have a reading room, aim for a library!" Says Riddell and visiting schools on a regular basis Bungle can only agree!

We fully support Riddell's plan to push for more reading spaces in schools, if you are able to capture a child's mind and imagination early on with a love of reading and drawing they will read and draw for evermore. We truly hope every school and teacher, as well as parent, gets behind Riddell's plan and help enthuse a love of reading for pleasure and drawing.

  

Congratulations Mr. Chris Riddell from the team at Midnight Reads and an extra congratulations from Bungle who is without doubt one of your biggest fans. She hopes that in her line of work the two of you will meet, one day..............

  

Stacking The Shelves #139

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tyngs's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your  shelves, may they be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

We love sharing our books with you each week but more importantly we loving see what you add to your shelves. As always, clicking on a book title will take you to goodreads.

    

Gods of Anthem ~ Logan Keys ~ From netgalley

A Thousand Nights ~ E.K. Johnston ~ unsolicited from publisher

Fire Girl ~ Matt Ralphs ~ unsolicited from publisher

Some interesting looking books this week yes?

So, what have you been buying this week?

Stacking The Shelves #138

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tyngs's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your  shelves, may they be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

We love sharing our books with you each week but more importantly we loving see what you add to your shelves. As always, clicking on a book title will take you to goodreads.

This is a pretty big sts for us this week after a meet up in London and the Chapter 5 book party, which was brill! Thank you to Michelle from Much Loved Books and Chapter 5 for all our new reads.

So to make this week a little easier on ourselves we've added several pictures to show you our new reads.

All books here are from the fabulous Chapter 5 (hodder) book party

Timebomb ~ Scott K. Andrews

Way Down Dark ~ JP Smythe

Reawakened ~ Colleen Houck

Dreamland ~ Robert L. Anderson

Dreams of Gods & Monsters ~ Laini Taylor

Between the Lines and Off The Page ~ Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer

Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head ~ Lauren Oliver & H.C. Chester

End of Days ~ Susan Ee

Obsidian, Onyx, Opal, Origin, Opposition & The Return ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout  

Golden Son ~ Pierce Brown

Vanishing Girls ~ Lauren Oliver

The 100 Homecoming ~ Kass Morgan

Starborn ~ Lucy Hounsom ~ from Michelle

The Falconer ~ Elizabeth May ~ from Michelle

One Thing Stolen ~ Beth Kephart ~ from Michelle

Black Horizon ~ M. G. Harris ~ from Michelle

Minus Me ~ Ingelin Rossland ~ from Michelle

Stung ~ Joss Stirling ~ from Oxford for review

The Wish Dog ~ Penny Thomas ~ from Sal

The Sleeper and The Spindle ~ Neil Gaiman & Chris Riddell ~ From Michelle

Fire & Flood ~ Victoria Scott ~ From Michelle

A Court of Thorns and Roses ~ Sarah J Maas ~ From Michelle

Conversion ~ Katherine Howe ~ From Michelle

Trash ~ Andy Mulligan ~ From Michelle

Endgame ~ C.J.Daugherty ~ Bought

The Game of Love and Death ~ Martha Brockenbrough ~ Bought

That's a lot of books to carry on public transport but what a day!  So what have you been adding to your shelves?

Review ~ Descent ~ Tara Fuller

Title: Descent

Author: Tara Fuller

Published: 2^nd June 2015

By: Entangled.

First line: “All in.”

Last line:  And for the first time in five hundred years, I was okay with that.

Synopsis:  Easton doesn’t believe in love. He believes in Death. Darkness.  Sin. As a reaper for Hell, it’s all he’s known for over four hundred years. When he gets slapped with the job of training the boss’s daughter, an angel who knows nothing but joy, he knows he’s in for a world of trouble.

Though he’s made it clear he wants nothing to do with her outside of work, Gwen would do anything to get closer to the dark and wounded reaper—even taint her angelic image and join the ranks of her father’s team of reapers. But in all her planning, she forgot to factor in one thing—how far the demons Easton doomed to hell would go to get revenge.

When the dangers of the Hell threaten Gwen, Easton will do whatever it takes to save her. But as the darkness closes in on them both, will he be able to save himself?

I was over the moon to find out that there was another instalment in the Blurred by Death series.  I was even more excited to find out that we were going to get to know a little a bit more about bad boy Easton and believe me his story was well worth the wait!  Not that this was his story alone.  It was also the story of Gwen, the daughter of Balthazar, who ends up on a reaper ride-along with the boy she is utterly intrigued by after a chance meeting.

Both characters in this story are equally as strong as each other.  We already have an insight into Easton.  We know that he is the reaper and we know that there are dark forces that keep him firmly in line, as much as his rebellious nature might suggest otherwise.  In this story however we get to see another side of him as well as all the squidgy stuff hiding below the surface, not least of which is his immediate attraction to Gwen as he introduces her to the ‘fun’ elements of his job.

Gwen is a force of nature and I loved her character.  She sticks her nose in and changes fate, going against nature, in order to ensure happiness for those she acts as an empath for. She is a very strong character not just in terms of her courage and determination but also in respect of her loyalty to those she cares about, to the point where she still break all laws known and put her own life on the line when she needs to.

And of course she needs to, when Tyler, one of her own ‘missions’ is inadvertently sent the wrong way, if you will, after his untimely death,  which it could be argued also happened at Gwen’s hand. Gwen Convinces Easton that together they can put things right, seeing as Easton, and his companion Scout are also partly responsible and so they set off to do just that.

The journey is not an easy one.  Gwen’s status makes her a prime target and Easton is forced to re-experience his own dark misdeeds and the past that haunts him as they travel through hell to rescue Tyler. The action is non-stopped in this sequel and it’s pretty much a roller-coaster ride from start to finish, however, there are plenty of fuzzy moments, as I would expect in this series. And given that Gwen is a completely new character it was great how she just slotted straight into the series and it was as though she had always been there. We also get our favourite past characters popping up from time to time which adds a further element of continuity to the series as a whole. I wonder if we’ll be reading more about Scout next… I hope so!

Many thanks to Entangled for forwarding a copy for review. 

Rating: 4/5 I loved Easton and Gwen’s tale.  If you haven’t picked up this series yet, I totally recommend it!