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Most Anticipated Book Releases of October 2018: books I can’t wait to get my hands on!

Sofia @ BookishWanderess15 Comments

Most anticipated book releases 2018

September and October are always the best months for releases in my opinion, so I have some amazing book that I can’t wait to get my hands on!

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee 

I read and enjoyed the first book in this series and I can’t wait to read Felicity’s story, since she is one of my favorite characters from book one. In this sequel, Felicity is looking for a way to accomplish her dream of becoming a doctor, in a time when men are seen as the sole guardians of science, and in this persue,  she becomes part of a perilous quest.

Release Date: October 2nd 2018

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore 

I’m a huge fan of Anna-Marie McLemore, I LOVE When The Moon Was Ours, and I can’t wait to read her next book. I’m definetely adding this to my Latinx Book Bingo TBR since I completely forgot this was coming out during the readathon. This is the story of two sisters that are rivals because of a curse that one day will leave one of them a girl and trap the other in the body of a swan.

Release Date: October 9th 2018

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera 

This is the story of  Arthur and Ben, who meet-cute at the post office, and what the universe have in store for them. I have never read an Adam Silvera book and that really needs to change but I’m scared of how sad his books seem to be, so I’m excited to read this one, because after reading Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda, I’m sure Becky won’t let him crush our heart too badly. RIGHT?!

Release Date: October 9th 2018

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi 

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped. I’m so excited to read this kind of story from an #ownvoices author, and I’m even more excited because I have heard nothing but great things from people who got arcs.

Release Date: October 16th 2018

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas 

This is my most anticipated release of the entire year, I have been reading these books for the longest time and I just want to know how everything ends …who am I kidding? I’M DYING TO KNOW HOW THIS ENDS.  Aelin’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. 

Release Date: October 23rd 2018

What October book releases are you anticipating? Do you want to read any of these books? Have you read any of these books and what did you think about them?

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Most Anticipated Book Releases of September 2018: So many amazing books!

Sofia @ BookishWanderess10 Comments

Most anticipated book releases 2018

September is gonna be such an amazing month for book releases, there’s so many books that I’m desperate to read that come out this month and I honestly can not wait!

Here are the six books being release in July that I’m highly anticipating, I hope you find something new to add to your tbr!

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren 

I have read a few Christina Lauren books this year so far and I have really liked them, so off course I’m excited for their newest book to come out, especially since it’s a friends to lovers story with a premise that sounds hilarious. This is about two completely different people who have been acquaintances for years and start setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates, because there’s obviously nothing going on between them. I have heard nothing but good things from people that got ARCs, so I’m even more excited!

Release date: September 4th 2018

Pride by Ibi Zoboi 

I have heard great things about American Street by Ibi Zoboi, but I haven’t read it yet, so I’m excited to give one of her books a chance and what better choice than a Pride and Prejudice retelling with an afro-latinx main character, and a storyline that revolves around the gentrification of a primarily latinx neighborhood. Honestly, what more could I ask for?

Release date: September 18th 2018

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith 

I have been waiting forever for this book and I can’t believe it’s finally here! This is book 4 in the Cormoran Strike series and after the end of book 3, I’m excited to see the changes in the dynamic between the characters. In this book, Detective Cormoran Strike and his ex-asistant- now partner in the detective firm- Robin Ellacott, try to find out what happened years ago to a troubled man who comes looking for their help.

Release date: September 18th 2018

Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalo 

This has to be one of my most anticipated books of the year, it’s the third book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series and I’m so excited to read about Audrey Rose and Thomas new adventure. In this book, the luxurious ship, where Audrey Rose and Thomas are passengers, becomes a floating prison of scandal, madness, and horror when passengers start being murdered and there’s nowhere to run from the killer. The fact that Kerri wrote a fake ending for the ARCs has me so intrigued, I need this book inmidiately!

Release date: September 18th 2018

Analee, In Real Life by Janelle Milanes 

I have been meaning to read Janelle Milanes’ debut novel The Victoria in my Head for a while, and I still haven’t done it, but because of that, I requested an ARC of this book and got it, and I’m excited to read it during the Latinx Book Bingo. This is the story of a latina girl, who’s mother passed away and she spends her time role playing in an online game where she mets a boy she likes but she isn’t able to tell him. At the same time, in real life, a popular boy asks her to be his fake girlfriend and he starts to coax her out of her comfort zone. I don’t know if I’m right, but I’m sensing a You’ve Got Mail situation and I’m excited about it!

Release date: September 18th 2018

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green 

Honestly, I’m mainly curious to see if this is any good since it’s Hank Green’s first book and the premise sounds intriguing. In this book, a bunch of sculptures started to show up in different cities around the world and this is the story of the woman that posted the first video of one of the sculptures online and how that video went viral and that changed her life. Also, it’s about the mystery surrounding the sculptures, about what they are and what they want from us. I have hard that this is quirky, pop-culture-filled, sci-fi-ish and I’m excited to read it!

Release date: September 25th 2018

What September book releases are you anticipating? Do you want to read any of these books? Have you read any of these books and what did you think about them?

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5 Books with Amazing Female Friendships

Sofia @ BookishWanderess4 Comments

5 books with amazing female friendshipsThe other day I was reading Cait’s post  Should YA Books Focus On Friendship More? (FT. 10 Friendships I Freaking Adore) and it got me thinking that we do need more books with amazing friendships, but I especially would like to see more books with female friendship. I have always thought that if we want more books with certain elements, we need to promote the books that already exist that include those elements, so I went throught the books I have read in 2018 and selected my 5 favorite books with amazing female frienships and here they are:

The Pros of Cons The Pros of Cons by Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar & Michelle Schusterman

This is about 3 girls that meet when they are in the same hotel for 3 different cons: a Percussion convention, a fandoms convention and a taxidermy conventions. These 3 girls meet and help each other through heartbreak, friendship problems & family drama. They are supportive, understanding and wonderful to each other. I almost cried happy tears because there friendship was so heartwarming.

Genre: Contemporary, YA (2018 release)

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal 

This is about a woman named Nikki, who takes a job teaching “creative writing” at the community center of London’s Punjabi community. Her students turn out to be Punjabi widows, that have a wealth of fantasies and memories, so Nikki helps them express their untold erotic stories. The friendship in this book between Nikki and the group of widows is amazing because they are so different from one another, they are all Punjabi but Nikki was raised in a less traditional way,  she has a completely different way of seeing things, so there are awkward moments and clashes. At the end, all these women grow and change thanks to their friendship, they learn about themselves and step out of their comfort zone.

Genre: Romance/Contemporary, Adult (2017 release)

the way you make me feel The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo 

This book is about a girl named Clara, who lives for pranks and disruption, until she takes one joke too far and her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck alongside her uptight classmate Rose. This is an enemies to friends story, where two very different girls are forced to get to know each other and they realise that maybe there’s more than what they had seen in the other. Clara and Rose’s friendship shows that real friends help you grow, challenge you to be better, support you and help you see how amazing you are.

Genre: Contemporary, YA (2018 release)

we are okay

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

This book is about Marin, who hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend, Mabel.  Now, months later, Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid.  I included this one on this list, because even when Marin and Mabel were romantically involved at some point, this book is about two friends finding their way to each other. Also, we get to see Marin understand that she can let Mabel be there for her when things get hard, she doesn’t have to go through it alone.

Genre: Contemporary, YA (2017 release)

marriage of inconvenience Marriage of Incovenience by Penny Read (Knitting in the City #7) 

This is the last book in the Knitting in the City series, which is a romance series about 7 woman that are friends and have a knitting group and in each book one of them finds love. But honestly, the most wonderful thing about this series is the friendship between these women. They are so different from one another, but that makes their dynamic hilarious.  They are supportive and undertanding, they would do anything for each other and they are there for each other when things get hard. Seeing their friendship grow and change in each book is amazing.

Genre: Romance, Adult (2018 release)

What books have you read lately with amazing female friendships? What are your favorite female friendships of all time? Let me know in the comments! 

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6 Series I Won’t Finish

Sofia @ BookishWanderess12 Comments

Series I won't finish

I was going through my unfinished series and I found some series tha I’m in the middle of and knew I wanted to finish and some that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep reading. I made a blog post about them a few days ago: Fantasy Series I’m in the Middle of: Should I Keep Reading Them?!

But there were 6 series, a mix between fantasy and dystopia, that I know I won’t finish. I read only the first book in these series, most of them 4 or 5 years ago, and  I’m not interested in them anymore. Here there are:

Legend Series by Marie Lu 

I read Legend 4 years ago and, through the years, I have considered multiple times if I should read the rest of the trilogy, because so many people say amazing things about Marie Lu’s writing. But, honestly, Legend was just ok for me, I found it predictable and I have no motivation to keep reading the series.

Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard 

I knew when I finished reading Red Queen, 2 years ago, that it was very unlikely that I would continue with this serie. It wasn’t bad, it’s just that there was nothing especial enough in this to make me want to keep reading. The world and the magic system were similar to others and I didn’t care about the characters enough to read just to know what happened to them.

The Orphan Queen Series by Jodi Meadows 

Most of the time I forget I read The Orphan Queen (3 years ago). It wasn’t bad but I remember almost nothing about it except that something weird (not bad!) happened with a creature of some sort. I considered finishing this because it is a duology, so I have only 1 book left, but honestly I have other things that I would rather read.

The Remnant Chronicles Series by Mary E. Pearson 

I didn’t love The Kiss of Deception, when I read it 4 years ago, and I know it was my own fault, because I got confused and frustrated by it (I don’t really know why). I still thought it was good and since a new book is coming out, everyone is talking about this series and how great it is, so I was considering reading the next book in the series, but again, I have other books that I want to read more.

Mara Dyer Series by Michelle Hodkin

I LOVED The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I gave it 5 stars and I was excited to continue reading the series, but then I never did and it’s being 5 years, and now I don’t really want to. I don’t remember enough of the first book and I’m just not as interested.

Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi 

Until very recently I was thinking about finishing this series, because the new book came out this year and everyone was talking about how amazing it is and I was kind of interested. But honestly, I didn’t like Shatter Me until the last few chapters when things got a bit more interesting, so I don’t have a good memory of the first book (which I read 5 years ago) and that makes it hard for me to feel inclined to read the other books in the series.

Did you read any of these series? Did you finish them? Is there one series on this list that you think I really should finish? 

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#ownvoices · 9 Books Monday · bookish list · Diverse Books

9 Books with Trans Main Characters

Sofia @ BookishWanderess11 Comments

9 books with trans main characters

9 Books Monday is a feature here on the blog, where I talk about 9 books that have positive representation for a minority/marginalized group. In the past, I have done posts about 9 book with: bisexual female main characters, latinx mc, black mc, muslim mc, lesbian mc and asian mc.

This time I’m doing 9 books with Trans Main Characters:

4 Books I Read and Loved

When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore : This is a beautifully written magical realism book, where one of the main charcters of the story, Samir, is a bacha posh: a child assigned female at birth selected to live as a boy until puberty. But it turns out Sam is not “living as a boy,” he is a boy. Beside the trans rep, there’s also pakistani rep and latinx rep (#ownvoices).

Coffee Boy by Austin Chant: This is an #ownvoices novella about a trans boy who has a crush on a campaign strategist, who happens to be a bisexual man, and who he meets while working in an internship for a politician. The story is cute and fun and it has steamy and explicit content.    

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock: This is a non fiction book about the life of Janet Mock, a biracial trans woman that has worked as a writer, jornalist and TV host. The book starts when Mock is a child living in poverty and continues through her adolescence including a very detailed account of her transition and all the heartbreaking obstacules she faced, and ends when she is a successful writer. This books tells the honest and captivating story of an incredible woman.

Not your Villain by C.B. Lee : This is the second book in a series but I’m pretty sure you could read it without reading the first one, since a lot of what happens in the first book is included in the beginning of this book. In Not Your Villain, the main character is Bells, a superhero that can shapeshift which helps him in his life as a trans guy. But then he became the country’s most-wanted villain after discovering a cover-up by the League of Heroes. This book is full of adventure and  fun and it has a diverse cast of characters.

5 Books on my TBR 

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo:  This book is about Amanda, a trans girl that just moved to a new town, starting at a new high school after a bad experience at her last one because of bullying and transphobia. In the new school everything is great, she is dating an amazing guy and has a ton of friends, but she isn’t sure if she should tell people about being trans or not. This books has a trans main character, a trans writer and a trans model on the cover.  Recently I read a short story by this author and loved it, so I ‘m hoping to read this book soon.

Dreadnought by April Daniels: This book is about Danny, she is trans, lesbian girl, who suddenly gets powers when Dreadnought (a superhero) dies in front of her. She immerses into this superhero world where she finds allies and enemies. This makes me think about Not Your Sidelick & Not Your Villain, which I love, and that makes me excited to read it. Also, I have heard nothing but great things about this one.

I Was Born for This by Alice Osmand: This has a main character that is a biracial (Indian and Italian) gay trans guy and he’s part of a famous boy band. The story unfolds when he unexpectedly mets a fangirl and they both end up having to face things in their lives. The other main character  is a Persian Muslim Hijabi who’s questioning her sexuality and I have heard there’s also really diverse side characters. I’m really excited to read this one, especially since I haven’t read any of Osmand’s books.

trans 2

Peter Darling by Austin Chant: This is a Peter Pan retelling. In this book, Peter Pan left Neverland to grow up and he had to resign himself to life as Wendy Darling. 10 years have passed and now Peter’s back in Neverland, everyone is grown up and he’s falling in love with Captain Hook.  It’s a short story, #ownvoices in terms of trans rep, and since reading Coffee Boy I have been meaning to read another book by this author.

The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein: I discovered this book recently, the author describes it as a biography of sorts and it’s about a trans woman that has suffered multiple traumas and that has a job helping others by cleaning up the fetid houses of the mentally ill, the hopeless and the murdered. That sounds so cool that I can’t wait to read it.

Books Releasing Soon  

I think it’s important to mention that I usually have a thrid category in my 9 Books Monday, where I pick books that are being realesed soon. Nonetheless, I couldn’t find books with trans main characters releasing in what’s left of 2018. I found out about Undertow, the second book to Darkling by Brooklyn Ray, which has a trans character as the love interest, and someone also told me that Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare has a trans character that has some chapters told from his point of view, but that’s it. It’s such a shame that there’s still so few realeses with trans main characters and I hope that by reading and promoting the ones that are already out, we get to have many more books with trans rep in the future. 

Have you read any of these books? did you enjoy them? Are you planning on reading any of them? Do you have recommendations for books with trans main characters? 

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Fantasy Series I’m in the Middle of: Should I Keep Reading Them?!

Sofia @ BookishWanderess26 Comments

Fantasy Series I'm in the Middle of

Recently, I went through my Goodreads shelves and I made a list of some fantasy series that I started but I didn’t read the sequels or I haven’t read all the books in the series that have been published. On this list, I have 4 fantasy series that I know for sure I want to catch up on and then there’s 6 fantasy series that I’m not sure if I want to continue reading, so I thought you could help me decide what to do with those 6 series by giving me your opinions and tell if they are worth finishing or not.

The series I’m sure I want to catch up on: 

An Ember in The Ashes Series by Sabaa Tahir

The third book in this series came out recently and there was a whole promotional campaing, so this series has been EVERYWHERE. I really enjoyed the first book, An Ember in the Ashes, I found the brutal and violent world fascinating, I really cared for the characters and I was scared the entire time of something horrible happening to them. I didn’t read the second book, A Torch Against the Night, right after finishing the first one because the realese date for the third book was so far away. Now that the third book is finally out, I can’t wait to continue with this series.

The Diviners Series  by Libba Bray

I read the first book in this series, The Diviners, a few months ago and I really enjoyed it, it’s one of my favorite books of the year so far. The different paranormal aspects of the story, the mystery, the spooky scenes and the characters intrigued me a lot and made me love the first book. I’m currently reading the second book in the series, Lair of Dreams and I’m really enjoying it as well. I’m planning on reading the third book before the end of the year and then I’ll have to wait who know’s how long for the next book in the series 😭

The Dark Artificies Series by Cassandra Clare

I really liked Lady Midnight, the first book in this series. I enjoyed being back in the shadowhunters world, I  liked the new set of characters and I loved learning more about the fey, which I find fascinating. I have heard nothing but great things about the sequel, Lord of Shadows, but I have been nervous to read it and I’m not sure why. I hope to read it before the third book comes out in December.

A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin

I have said this before, I’m always in awe of the world building in the books in this series; the amount of details in terms of hystory, family trees, religions and so much more is mindblowing. Also, there’s so many complex and captivating characters that I can’t help but root for most of them even when they are in completely opposite sides of what’s going on. I have been reading this series slowly because the books are HUGE, but I finally finished book four last month and I’m looking forward to reading the fifth book, even if I’m nervous the sixth book is never gonna be realesed 😕

The series I’m not sure if I want to continue reading or not: 

These are the series that I want to know your opinions on, should I keep reading them? Are they worth finishing? Let me know what you think!

Poison Study Series by Maria V. Snyder

I read Poison Study at the beginning of 2018 and I think it was ok (I gave it 3,8 stars), I really liked most of the characters, but there was nothing unique about it and it was easy to tell it was an older ya fantasy book and that a lot of books have replicated what this book did since then. Nonetheless, I’m still curious about this one and I have been wondering lately if I should continue this series even if I think it’s gonna be similar to things I have read before. Is this series too similar to other YA Fantasy series? Does this series have unique elements? Is it worth reading even if it’s similar to other series? 

The Witchlands Series by Susan Dennard

I LOVED Truthwitch, the first book in this series, because of its complex magic system and world building and the amazing characters. Once the second book, Windwitch, came out, I got it and started to read it inmediately, but after reading a few pages I was not enjoying it at all. I don’t know if it wasn’t the right time to read it or if I should have read a bit more pages or what. I loved the first book enough to give the rest of the series another chance, but I do want to know if you think it’s worth it or not.  Is the rest of the series as good as the first book? Does the series go downhill after the first book? 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series by Laini Taylor

When I read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, the first book in the series, I really enjoyed Laini Taylor’s writing and I was fascinated with the world she had created. Nonetheless, the romance in the book put me off of reading the rest of the trilogy, because it was so insta-lovey and I didn’t like Akiva, the love interest, that much. I’m still really intrigued about the world and it’s not like I didn’t like the first book, I gave it 4 stars, but I’m not sure if I liked it enough to suffer through the romance. Does the romance get better in the rest of the series?  Should I continue reading the series even if I didn’t like the romance?

Falling Kingdoms Series by Morgan Rhodes

Falling Kingdom is the lowest rated book I included in this list, I gave it 3,5 stars. I had a lot of trouble with the first half of this book, I found it boring and I even stopped for two month halfway through before finishing the book. I didn’t like any of the characters and some of the relationships made me uncomfortable. But the world left me intrigued and even when I finished the book and I thought it wasn’t that good, I was still interested in reading the rest of the story. Do you think the next books get better? Or are they really similar to the first book? Do the characters develop in the other books of the series? 

The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss

I enjoyed The Name of the Wind a lot when I read it, but then I check out the second book in this series from the library three times in the last few years and I haven’t read it. I don’t know what is it – maybe the fact that it’s so long or maybe it’s because the third book isn’t out yet and we don’t know when it’s coming out- but I haven’t been able to read this. I feel like I have forgotten a lot of things about the first book and that worries me because I think I’m gonna feel lost while reading the other books in the series. Is the second book good? Should I read it now or wait until the release date for the third book is announced? 

Brooklyn Brujas Series by Zoraida Córdova

I liked the first book in this series, Labyrinth Lost, because the premise and the characters were wonderful. I was interested in the second book of the series until I found out it is a companion novel, it follows other characters within this world and a totally different premise. I’m not sure what to feel about that and my excitement to read the second book, Bruja Born, has declined a lot.  If anyone has read it, is the second book as good as the first? Do we see the characters from the other book? 

Please let me know your opinions about these series! Are they worth finishing?

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Most Anticipated Book Releases – July 2018

Sofia @ BookishWanderess1 Comment

Most anticipated book releases 2018

I only had two books that are gonna be release on July on my Goodreads shelf of anticipated book releases of 2018, so when I started to write this post I decided to check some of the lists on Goodreads and see if I was missing some amazing book. It turns out that I found two more books that sound absolutely fantastic and that I can’t wait to read.

Here are the four books being release in July that I’m really excited to read, I hope you find something new to add to your tbr!

 

Dr. Strange Beard by Penny Reid

I have been waiting for this book for an entire year and it’s almost time to read it and I’m so excited! This is the fifth book in a series, but the series can be read out of order. The books follow the Winston brothers as they each find love and it’s one of my favorite romance series, so I can’t wait to read this book.

Release Date: July 30th 2018

Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie

I read The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie a few months ago and I really enjoyed it, so I’m really excited to read another book by her. This is a science fiction book about two girls that become mechanically enhanced soldiers, one does it to save her brother and the other one doesn’t remember why she did it. That sounds so interesting to me, I haven’t read a lot of books about cyborgs but I’m really intrigued to see how it’s explored in this book.

Release Date: July 17th 2018

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

This is one of those book written from a very appathetic perspective, which is very much related to the fact that the main character suffers from depression, and I always find that that kind of perspectives resonate a lot with me. Also, the entire premise of a woman taking a year off to sleep sounds weird but intriguing to me and  I can’t wait to read this book and find out what happens. Additionally, I have heard nothing but amazing things about Moshfegh’s writing and I want to see for myself what’s so especial about it.

Release Date: July 17th 2018

Fruit of the Druken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras 

This book is a recently discovery of mine, it’s a book set in Colombia (where I’m from) and it’s about an unlikely friendship between two girls that lived in Bogotá during a time where the internal armed conflict was taking over the country and touching the lives of its habitants in a million diferent ways. I can’t believe this book exists and I’m so excited to read it, especially because it’s inspired by the author’s own life. I’m a bit nervous, but I’m hoping this is great and more people will learn about the history of my country from a better source than Narcos on Netflix.

Release Date: July 31st 2018

What July book releases are you anticipating? Do you want to read any of these books? Have you read any of these books and what did you think about them?

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