End of Year Book Tag!

Hello everyone! Long time, no write. I haven't posted in a month since I just started my last year of high school. I've just been settling into the new routine with all my new teachers, homework, and tests (yes, I've already had tests). I found some time to put together this post since I finished my homework early. I saw this original Tag created by Ariel Bissett on YouTube and I just had to do it. I hope you enjoy this post. Share your reading goals for the end of the year in the comments below!

1) Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Summary:

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

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What I have read so far of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor was amazing. I've always heard that her writing is so lyrical and that is so spot on. Her writing is full of intrigue and whimsy and so visually descriptive. It's so unique--unlike anything I've ever read before. I really hope to finish this as I am really enjoying this story.

2) Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

Summary:

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes—a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt’s ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love—and that love violates the fair folks’ ruthless laws. Now both of their lives are forfeit, unless Isobel can use her skill as an artist to fight the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.

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I heard of An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson when I logged onto Goodreads and saw this review. I've heard this book be compared to A Court of Thorns and Roses and I definitely agree based on the summary. I love the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas so I have really high hopes for this book. It sounds very autumnal as Isobel is sent to the autumnlands. I love autumn so I can't wait to read a book that reflects the cozy atmosphere outside. 

3) Is there a new release you're still waiting for?

Summary:

In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.

Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.

And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.

They’re right.

~~~

I read the Mara Dyer Trilogy back in 2015 and I just fell in love with it. It's what got me into fantasy books in the first place. I've been waiting for The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin since then and it's finally coming out 2 years later! Excited to read this and to see where this series goes! 

Summary:

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines, when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.

~~~

I cannot wait to read Without Merit by Colleen Hoover. I love Colleen Hoover so much. She is hands down my favourite contemporary romance writer. This book sounds very mysterious and different from her other books. I just bought it yesterday and already am very intrigued. I'll most likely finish this in 2-3 days like all my other Colleen Hoover books. Super excited for this one!!!

4) What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

Cheating a little as there are four books but I really hope to finish Harry Potter this year! I've read the first three books and I have been enjoying them so much. I've heard the books start getting scarier and larger (in size) after the third book. It would be so great if I finished this before Christmas so I can spend some of my Christmas break watching the movies! 

5) Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favourite book of the year?

I think Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas or Without Merit by Colleen Hoover could definitely become my favourite book of the year. These are two of my favourite authors so that's why I chose them for this question. I just finished reading Tower of Dawn and it is definitely a contender for first place. I guess we shall see but it will most likely be one of the two. 

6) Have you already started making reading plans for 2018?

Of course I have a 2018 reading list! I'm hoping to read 18 books next year as next year is 2018 and it sounds fitting. It's a lot less than I normally read in a year but since I have school and the homework is inevitably going to get harder I decided to set an easier goal for next year. I've even started making a list of the books I'm hoping to read next year. I'm super excited, as you can tell. I'll share my list with you at the beginning of next year. Hopefully, I finish most of them--if not all!

Thanks for reading today's post! I hope you all have a great day and a wonderful week ahead! See you next time.


love xena