Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Resolutions by Mia Garcia

Posted in Can't-Wait Wednesday, Memes & Challenges by Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings where bloggers share which upcoming releases they’re most looking forward to. Join us every Wednesday and watch your TBR list multiply. Cover is linked to Goodreads.

I feel like we don’t get enough contemporary novels that focus on friend groups and even less that focus on diverse ones. This is why I am so excited for Mia Garcia’s sophomore novel The Resolutions. I cannot be the only one in love with this cover.

Title: The Resolutions
Author: Mia Garcia
Series: N/A
Pages: 416
Publisher: HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: November 13, 2018

“New Years are for fresh starts, but Jess just wants everything to go back to the way it was.
From hiking trips, to four-person birthday parties, to never-ending group texts, Jess, Lee, Ryan, and Nora have always been inseparable—and unstoppable. But now, with senior year on the horizon, they’ve been splintering off and growing apart. And so, as always, Jess makes a plan.
Reinstating their usual tradition of making resolutions together on New Year’s Eve, Jess adds a new twist: instead of making their own resolutions, the four friends assign them for each other—dares like kiss someone you know is wrong for you, show your paintings, learn Spanish, say yes to everything.
But not even the best laid plans can take into account the uncertainties of life. As the year unfolds, Jess, Ryan, Nora, and Lee each test the bonds that hold them together. And amid first loves, heart breaks, and life-changing decisions, beginning again is never as simple as it seems.”

Are you participating in Can’t-Wait Wednesday or Waiting on Wednesday? Is this book on your TBR? Be sure to leave a link to your post in the comments and I’ll visit!

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao

Posted in Can't-Wait Wednesday, Memes & Challenges by Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense

I enjoyed Julie C. Dao’s debut Forest of a Thousand Lanterns so much. I loved that we got to embrace a character who gave into the darkness inside her while simultaneously keeping readers engaged. I’m really looking forward to Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix, where our villainess from the previous novel is challenged by the protagonist from this one. I also got some surprise mail a couple of days ago and am now in possession of the paperback edition of Forest with its cover makeover and an ARC of this title. I’m so excited!

Title: Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix
Author: Julie C. Dao
Series: Rise of the Empress, #2
Pages: 384
Publisher: Philomel Books
Release Date: November 6, 2018

“Princess Jade has grown up in exile, hidden away in a monastery while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules as Empress of Feng Lu. But the empire is in distress and its people are sinking into poverty and despair. Even though Jade doesn’t want the crown, she knows she is the only one who can dethrone the Empress and set the world right. Ready to reclaim her place as rightful heir, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all. But will the same darkness that took Xifeng take Jade, too? Or will she find the strength within to save herself, her friends, and her empire?
Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with breathtaking pain and beauty, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is filled with dazzling magic, powerful prose, and characters readers won’t soon forget.”

Are you participating in Can’t-Wait Wednesday or Waiting on Wednesday? Is this book on your TBR? Be sure to leave a link to your post in the comments and I’ll visit!

11Sep2018

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

Posted in Can't-Wait Wednesday, Memes & Challenges by Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense

Do you ever read a synopsis and just feel in your bones that the book was written for you? That’s how I’ve been feeling about The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke. I’ve only read one full length novel (Wink Poppy Midnight) and a short story (from Slasher Girls and Monster Boys) by Tucholke, but I’ve been really taken by her writing and am really looking forward to this one.

Title: The Boneless Mercies
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Series: N/A
Pages: 384
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: October 2, 2018

“Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies—girls hired to kill quickly, quietly, and mercifully. But Frey is weary of the death trade and, having been raised on the heroic sagas of her people, dreams of a bigger life.
When she hears of an unstoppable monster ravaging a nearby town, Frey decides this is the Mercies’ one chance out. The fame and fortune of bringing down such a beast would ensure a new future for all the Mercies. In fact, her actions may change the story arc of women everywhere.
Full of fierce girls, bloodlust, tenuous alliances, and unapologetic quests for glory, this elegantly spun tale challenges the power of storytelling—and who gets to be the storyteller.”

Are you participating in Can’t-Wait Wednesday or Waiting on Wednesday? Is this book on your TBR? Be sure to leave a link to your post in the comments and I’ll visit!

28Aug2018

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

Posted in Can't-Wait Wednesday, Memes & Challenges by Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense

I always struggle to come up with a favorite author, but each time Anna-Marie McLemore publishes a new novel, I get closer and closer to immediately shouting out her name when asked. McLemore’s writing always feels fairy tale like, so it’s no surprise that her upcoming release Blanca & Roja is is based on the fairy tale Snow-White and Rose-Red. I have an eARC of this one, which I am very excited to pick up.

Title: Blanca & Roja
Author: Anna-Marie McLemore
Series: N/A
Pages: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: October 9, 2018

“The biggest lie of all is the story you think you already know.
The del Cisne girls have never just been sisters; they’re also rivals, Blanca as obedient and graceful as Roja is vicious and manipulative. They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. They know that, one day, the swans will pull them into a dangerous game that will leave one of them a girl, and trap the other in the body of a swan.
But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans’ spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them. Blanca & Roja is the captivating story of sisters, friendship, love, hatred, and the price we pay to protect our hearts.”

Are you participating in Can’t-Wait Wednesday or Waiting on Wednesday? Is this book on your TBR? Be sure to leave a link to your post in the comments and I’ll visit!

21Aug2018

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Posted in Can't-Wait Wednesday, Memes & Challenges by Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense

I’ve read a couple of really good early reviews for Somaiya Daud’s Mirage and am quite taken with the premise. The cover is so beautiful as well. I originally thought this was a fantasy, but it’s more science-fiction and it’s been a while since I’ve been in the mood for the particular genre, but I’m ready to be taken for a ride.

Title: Mirage
Author: Somaiya Daud
Series: Mirage, #1
Pages: 320
Publisher: Flatiron Book
Release Date: August 28, 2018

“In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.
But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.
As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.”

Are you participating in Can’t-Wait Wednesday or Waiting on Wednesday? Is this book on your TBR? Be sure to leave a link to your post in the comments and I’ll visit!

24Jul2018

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Pride by Ibi Zoboi

Posted in Can't-Wait Wednesday, Memes & Challenges by Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense

I’m pretty sure when I first heard about Ibi Zoboi’s upcoming Pride & Prejudice retelling, Pride, I squealed aloud. Her debut American Street was so impressive and I feel like this is the kind of P&P retelling I’ve been waiting my whole life for. I’ve already preordered it and am anxiously awaiting its arrival.

Title: Pride
Author: Ibi Zoboi
Series: N/A
Pages: 304
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: September 18, 2018

“Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.
When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.
But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.
In a timely update of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, critically acclaimed author Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.”

Are you participating in Can’t-Wait Wednesday or Waiting on Wednesday? Is this book on your TBR? Be sure to leave a link to your post in the comments and I’ll visit!