Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

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.

S.A. Chakraborty’s The City of Brass is one of the most complex fantasy novels I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. I loved all the characters in the novel and really appreciated Chakraborty’s world where there isn’t necessarily a clear-cut bad side and good side. I’m really looking forward to the second novel in her debut series. Honestly, I’m half in love with this sequel The Kingdom of Copper based on the beautiful cover alone. Cover is linked to Goodreads.

Title: The Kingdom of Copper
Author: S.A. Chakraborty
Series: The Daevabad Trilogy, #2
Pages: 640
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: January 22, 2019

“Nahri’s life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad—and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there.
Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of a devastating battle, Nahri must forge a new path for herself. But even as she embraces her heritage and the power it holds, she knows she’s been trapped in a gilded cage, watched by a king who rules from the throne that once belonged to her family—and one misstep will doom her tribe.
Meanwhile, Ali has been exiled for daring to defy his father. Hunted by assassins, adrift on the unforgiving copper sands of his ancestral land, he is forced to rely on the frightening abilities the marid—the unpredictable water spirits—have gifted him. But in doing so, he threatens to unearth a terrible secret his family has long kept buried.
And as a new century approaches and the djinn gather within Daevabad’s towering brass walls for celebrations, a threat brews unseen in the desolate north. It’s a force that would bring a storm of fire straight to the city’s gates . . . and one that seeks the aid of a warrior trapped between worlds, torn between a violent duty he can never escape and a peace he fears he will never deserve.”

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: The Wicked King by Holly Black

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

Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince was a truly fascinating read. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, but the hype ended up being too much for me to resist. I ended up really taking to the protagonist, Jude, and loved that she got to be the bad guy in this twisted world of fairies. I feel like I’ve been counting down the days until The Wicked King‘s release and over Black Friday weekend, I ended up preordering the sequel. Now if only time would move faster.

Title: The Wicked King
Author: Holly Black
Series: The Folk of the Air, #2
Pages: 336
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 8, 2019

“You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.
The first lesson is to make yourself strong.
After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.
When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.”

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!

6Nov2018

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

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

Roshani Chokshi’s writing is always so enchanting and I’m excited to see what she does with The Gilded Wolves. It feels different than what I’m used to seeing from her, but I am very confident in her ability to write a novel that will beguile readers. Also, this cover is so pretty it makes me want to cry.

Title: The Gilded Wolves
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Series: The Gilded Wolves, #1
Pages: 400
Publisher: Wednesday
Release Date: January 15, 2019

“Set in a darkly glamorous world The Gilded Wolves is full of mystery, decadence and dangerous but thrilling adventure.
Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance. To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts:
An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can’t yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.
Together, they’ll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.”

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!

30Oct2018

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard

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

I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for Susan Dennard’s Bloodwitch. I’m so excited for this third book in the Witchlands series. It’s one of my favorite fantasies and I’m beyond ecstatic that this will be Aeduan’s novel. Iseult is my favorite character, but I have a soft spot for this grey character.

Title: Bloodwitch
Author: Susan Dennard
Series: The Witchlands, #3
Pages: 464
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: February 12, 2019

“Fans of Susan Dennard’s New York Times bestselling Witchlands series have fallen in love with the Bloodwitch Aeduan. And now, finally, comes his story.
High in a snowy mountain range, a monastery that holds more than just faith clings to the side of a cliff. Below, thwarted by a lake, a bloodthirsty horde of raiders await the coming of winter and the frozen path to destroy the sanctuary and its secrets.
The Bloodwitch Aeduan has teamed up with the Threadwitch Iseult and the magical girl Owl to stop the destruction. But to do so, he must confront his own father, and his past.”

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!

16Oct2018

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

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

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!

25Sep2018

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!