A Beginner's Guide to 'New' YA Fantasy (aka all the recommendations) ft. Rogue Cart

So I decided to share something a little different today.  Last year, I was contacted by the creators of Rogue Cart to create a recommendations list for their website.  (and yes, I'm only now getting around to sharing it because I'm so on top of things like that)  Rogue Cart is a place for anyone to create an account and create lists (be in top tens, favorites, etc) about any topic!

I created a list of YA Fantasy recommendations for them (honestly, were you expecting something else??) and I included books that are my absolute favorites and perfect for the fantasy beginner or an experienced reader looking for new favorites.  These are all more 'recent' fantasies (aka basically all from after the turn of the century) but I'm thinking of also putting together a guide for earlier fantasies and even more recent ones!  Going forward, I'm going to create a new series all about different genres, their main characteristics and my recommendations!  For now, this is just to get it all started and I'll be doing a more in depth post on fantasy with a wider range of release dates sometime in the future.

Without further ado, let's get onto the list!  You can also find this list on Rogue Cart's website.

Review Sunday: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

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Robert Langdon #2

(work as standalones)

Released: 2003

Blurb:

"An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.

A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe.

An astonishing truth concealed for centuries . . . unveiled at last.

While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci—and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever."

50/50 Friday (86): Book You Wish Was Recommended to You More/Less

50/50 Friday is a meme hosted by Carrie @The Butterfly Reads and I and focuses on the opposite sides of books (best/worst, differing opinions, etc).  Every week will have a new topic and several advance topics will be listed in the tab labeled 50/50 Friday!

Today's Topic: Book You Wish Was Recommended to You More/Less

A Guide: The Basics of HTML

So after a three month hiatus with these posts, I'm finally getting back at it again!  In honor of my third blogoversary last year, I began this series of Guides that contain all my knowledge that I've gleaned from being a blogger.  I'm currently celebrating my fourth blogoversary at the end of March (yay!!!) and there will be a bit of a surprise for that (aka a giveaway and other special things coming in June... probably).  But back to this Guide.  I've done four other Guide's before this which I've linked below for your convenience.  And, without further ado, onto the basics of HTML!

The Pursuit of Reviewers
Review Writing
Blog Design
The Wonders of Images

Review Sunday: Q by Luther Blissett (aka a team of authors)

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Standalone to date

Released: 1999

Blurb:

"In 1517, Martin Luther nails his ninety-five theses demanding reform of the Catholic Church to the door of Wittenburg Cathedral, setting off a period of upheaval, war, civil war and violence we now know as the Reformation.

In this age devastated by wars of religion, a young theology student adopts the cause of the heretics and the disinherited. Across the chessboard of Europe, from the German plains to the flourishing Dutch cities and down to Venice, the gateway to the East, our hero, a 'Survivor', a radical Protestant Anabaptist who goes under many names, and his enemy, a loyal papal spy and heretic hunter known mysteriously as "Q" play a game in which no moves are forbidden and the true size of the stakes remain hidden until the end. What begins as a personal struggle to reveal each other's identity becomes a mission that can only end in death."

50/50 Friday (85): Book You Can/Can't Bring Yourself to Reread

50/50 Friday is a meme hosted by Carrie @The Butterfly Reads and I and focuses on the opposite sides of books (best/worst, differing opinions, etc).  Every week will have a new topic and several advance topics will be listed in the tab labeled 50/50 Friday!

Today's Topic: Book You Can/Can't Bring Yourself to Reread

Review Wednesday: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass #5)

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Throne of Glass #5

Released: 2016

Blurb:

"The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius as war looms on the horizon. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don't.

With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

In this breathtaking fifth installment of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, Aelin will have to choose what—and who—to sacrifice if she's to keep the world of Erilea from breaking apart."

Review Sunday: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

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A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.1

Released: May 1st, 2018

Blurb:

"The Winter Solstice. In a week. I was still new enough to being High Lady that I had no idea what my formal role was to be. If we'd have a High Priestess do some odious ceremony, as lanthe had done the year before. A year. Gods, nearly a year since Rhys had called in his bargain, desperate to get me away from the poison of the Spring Court to save me from my despair. Had he been only a minute later, the Mother knew what would have happened. Where I'd now be. Snow swirled and eddied in the garden, catching in the brown fibers of the burlap covering the shrubs My mate who had worked so hard and so selflessly, all without hope that I would ever be with him We had both fought for that love, bled for it. Rhys had died for it."

50/50 Friday (84): Series On Your TBR You'll Keep/Get Rid Of

50/50 Friday is a meme hosted by Carrie @The Butterfly Reads and I and focuses on the opposite sides of books (best/worst, differing opinions, etc).  Every week will have a new topic and several advance topics will be listed in the tab labeled 50/50 Friday!

Today's Topic: Series On Your TBR You'll Keep/Get Rid Of

Review Wednesday: By a Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questell

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Standalone to date

Released: February 6th, 2018

Blurb:

"Le Grand’s Carnival Fantastic isn’t like other traveling circuses. It’s bound by a charm, held together by a centuries-old curse, that protects its members from ever growing older or getting hurt. Emmaline King is drawn to the circus like a moth to a flame…and unwittingly recruited into its folds by a mysterious teen boy whose kiss is as cold as ice.

Forced to travel through Texas as the new Girl in the Box, Emmaline is completely trapped. Breaking the curse seems like her only chance at freedom, but with no curse, there’s no charm, either—dooming everyone who calls the Carnival Fantastic home. Including the boy she’s afraid she’s falling for.

Everything—including his life—could end with just one kiss."

March + April Wrap-Up

So this was an interesting few months.  Mostly, I just had zero time for anything (if you thought my January and February were productive, prepare yourself for the utter unproductivity that was March and April).  In any case, it's now May and it's time for another wrap-up! (just ignore the fact that March should be separate from April if I would ever follow my goals)

50/50 Friday (83): Best/Worst Book Read in April

50/50 Friday is a meme hosted by Carrie @The Butterfly Reads and I and focuses on the opposite sides of books (best/worst, differing opinions, etc).  Every week will have a new topic and several advance topics will be listed in the tab labeled 50/50 Friday!

Today's Topic: Best/Worst Book Read in April

Review and Release Tuesday: Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June

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Companion to It Started With Goodbye (don't need to read in order)

Released: May 1st, 2018

Blurb:

"From author Christina June comes Everywhere You Want to Be, a modern tale inspired by the classic Red Riding Hood.

Matilda Castillo has always done what she was told, but when she gets injured senior years, she watches her dreams of becoming a contemporary dancer slip away. So when Tilly gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend the summer with a New York dance troupe, nothing can stop her from saying yes--not her mother, not her fears of the big city, and not the commitment she made to Georgetown. Tilly's mother allows her to go on two conditions: one, Tilly will regularly visit her abuela in New Jersey, and two, after the summer, she'll give up dancing and go off to college.

Armed with her red vintage sunglasses and her pros and cons lists, Tilly strikes out, determined to turn a summer job into a career. Along the way she meets new friends ... and new enemies. Tilly isn't the only one desperate to dance, and fellow troupe member Sabrina Wolfrik intends to succeed at any cost. But despite dodging sabotage and blackmail attempts from Sabrina, Tilly can't help but fall in love with the city, especially since Paolo, a handsome musician from her past, is also calling New York home for the summer.

As the weeks wind down and the competition with Sabrina heats up, Tilly's future is on the line. She must decide whether to follow her mother's path to Georgetown or leap into the unknown to pursue her own dreams."