Tag Archives: upcoming releases

Sep 22 2014
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Top Ten Books on My Fall 2014 TBR!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

These TBR posts are my favorites to compose because I get to go sit in front of my collection of books and decide which ones I’m looking forward to reading the most. Any time I have an excuse to go stare at my shelves is a good time. Since I got so much good reading done on my Alaskan cruise, I decided to designate a few spots to releases that haven’t quite hit the shelves yet (but ones I plan to pick up immediately). Here’s a look at my:

Top Ten Books on My Fall 2014 TBR!


 The one I’m probably most excited to read at the moment is Fortune’s Pawn, as it’s written by the same author who created the awesome Eli Monpress series (Rachel Aaron writing as Rachel Bach).

What books make the top of your TBR?

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 17 2014
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Coming Soon: The Rogue Knight by Brandon Mull

the rogue knightTitle: The Rogue Knight

Author: Brandon Mull

Series: Five Kingdoms #2

Genre: Middle Grade

Release Date: October 21, 2014

The Overview: Cole Randolph never meant to come to The Outskirts, but when his friends were kidnapped on Halloween he had to try and save them. Now he is trapped in a world that lies between wakefulness and dreaming, reality and imagination, life and death. Cole’s in search for his friends has led him to Elloweer, another of the five kingdoms that make up The Outskirts. He is accompanied by Mira, Twitch, and Jace; new friends he’s met here in the Outskirts who each have their own important missions. The group is following news that Mira’s sister, Honor, could be in danger. However, Cole and Mira are soon the ones facing direct threat, and must resort to a fascinating new kind of magic to protect themselves. Their journey brings them across familiar faces, some more welcome than others, until their paths ultimately cross with the infamous man known throughout Elloweer as the Rogue Knight. Will he turn out to be an unstoppable enemy, or a key ally? Every move is filled with danger as Cole and his new friends try and outwit the High King, who will stop at nothing to regain what he has lost.

the rogue knight 2

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Aside from Harry Potter, Fablehaven is easily my favorite middle grade series. I’ve read the books more times than I can count. Since the final book was released, I’ve since gone out and read the Candy Shop War (which I liked), Beyonders (which I did not like), Wild Born (cool!), and Sky Raiders (which is easily my favorite series since Fablehaven). So, even though Beyonders was kind of a disappointment, I’m grateful for this new series – it has me fired up about Mull all over again. I was lucky enough to chat with him for a moment at a book signing and to hear him talk about the “awesome stuff you haven’t even seen yet” coming up in the Five Kingdom series has me pumped!

 As a side note, he also mentioned that after finishing the series he will be working on a spin off of Fablehaven featuring the dragon sanctuaries prominent in book 4!!!!! I am fricken stoked.

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 2 2014
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Coming Soon: The Dagger’s Path by Glenda Larke

The Dagger's PathTitle: The Dagger’s Path

Author: Glenda Larke

Series: The Forsaken Lands #2

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: January 13, 2015

The Overview: It should have been easy — return the stolen feather and restore Ardhi back to his rightful place. But when Saker, Ardhi, Sorrel, and Piper arrive to find the island in chaos, returning just the one feather will not help — not when the other three have mysteriously disappeared as well. As Saker and Ardhi work to mend the distrust caused by Ardhi’s betrayal and attempt to retrieve the other feathers, they slowly find a sort of peace with the islanders. That is, until Saker realizes they unintentionally led the Spice traders straight to the sacred island they were hoping to protect. Now Saker must fight with both the Va witchery and Chenderawasi magic to defend everything that Ardhi holds dear. But Saker’s powers are very new, and their enemies have them surrounded.

The Dagger's Path 2

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

 Glenda Larke is easily one of my all-time favorite fantasy authors. I’ve read every book she has published so far (including the Mirage trilogy which I had to pay big bucks to have shipped over from Australia), and have absolutely loved every last one. She always dazzles me with epic world-building, amazing characters, and well-woven plots, and her work in this latest trilogy is no exception – in fact, it has the potential to be my favorite yet. The Lascar’s Dagger (Book 1 in this series) was phenomenal and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves epic fantasy. I am so excited for this second book I can hardly stand it. And it gets even better – the release day also happens to be my birthday! :)

by Niki Hawkes

Aug 31 2014
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August 2014: Review Recap!

Review Recap

 While putting together this recap I had a revelation: although I wrote a ton of reviews this month I didn’t actually post that many of them. You see, I’m going on vacation for two weeks and decided to try my hand at scheduling posts… And now I have figured out why that method doesn’t work for me – I end up neglecting what I’m supposed to be publishing now in favor of what’s going to happen later. Oh well. At least I don’t have to worry about anything while I’m on my cruise. :-)

Books Reviewed:

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
The 100 by Cass Morgan
The Inventor’s Secret by Chad Morris

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman – 3.5/5 stars

The Hundred by Kass Morgan – 3/5 stars

Inventor’s Secret by Chad Morris – 4/5 stars

 And since I couldn’t possibly decide which of these two I liked better, I have two favorites this month:

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson – 5/5 stars!

Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb – 5/5 stars!

  So, even though my review rate was pathetic, at least that included two of the best books I’ve read. Ever.

Top Ten Tuesday Features:

Top Ten Books I Want to Own!

Niki’s Top Twelve Must-Read Books!

Top Ten YA Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Books!

 Waiting on Wednesday Features:

 Even though I am definitely interested in all of these books, I’m not really dying to read any of them… But I am excited to pick up Ignite.

 Escape Reality Book Club:

TBD next week

by Niki Hawkes

Aug 26 2014
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Coming Soon: Ignite by Sara B. Larson

igniteTitle: Ignite

Author: Sara B. Larson

Series: Defy #2

Genre: Teen Fantasy 

Release Date: January 6, 2015

The Overview: Alexa remains by the newly crowned King Damian’s side as his guard, ever committed to helping him rebuild Antion and reclaim the hope of Antion’s people, despite continuing to harbor a secret love for him. However, when another threat to Damian and his kingdom emerges, and blame is cast on their newly forged allies from Blevon, Alexa knows things are not what they seem. With the fate of her nation hanging in the balance once again, will Alexa be able to protect her king and uncover the true enemy — before it’s too late?

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Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Having just finished Defy last week, I can say with certainty I am excited to read Ignite! What a shame I have to wait until January. I enjoyed Defy thoroughly despite the fact that there were a few elements that wouldn’t hold up the close scrutiny. It just goes to show that a novel doesn’t have to be perfect to be highly entertaining. I haven’t written a review for Defy yet, but it’s definitely getting a higher rating. It actually had a lot of similar appeal to Throne of Glass…

 As a side note, I picked up Defy because a) I wanted to read it (a given) and b) Larson is scheduled to attend the Vegas Valley Book Festival… you better believe I’ve already purchased a copy to have her sign – much love! :-)

 What book are you waiting on?

by Niki Hawkes

Aug 26 2014
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Top Ten Books I Want to Own!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I love buying books. And lucky for all of you, I also love talking about buying books. Being a bookseller for eleven years can really take a toll on your bank account (and shelves), and I’m sure all of you book lovers can imagine how difficult it was to show restraint (I’ve heard it compared to allowing an alcoholic to work in a bar). Because I’ve been collecting for so long, my library is pretty extensive and there are not many books I want to read that I don’t already own. That is why everything on my list are either new or upcoming releases (with the sole exception of Independent Study – I absolutely loved it, but didn’t like books 1 or 3 nearly as much… to buy, or not to buy?).

Top Ten Books I Want to Own!

 As I’ve been working really hard towards becoming a conservative book buyer (it has been really painful), I started a Read 4, Buy 1 system and it has actually been working! Not only do I feel like I get a reward every fourth book, but it keeps a steady stream of books arriving at my doorstep (happies!!!). It has also turned me into a much more careful book buyer. Before, I would buy anything and everything I thought I might want to read one day. And not just book 1, but the entire series! As you can imagine, I found myself in a lot of trouble when I figured out I didn’t like the first book as much as I thought I would. Now, unless it’s a new book from an author I already love, I make a point to read new authors before I buy them. My collection has grown so much more special now that I’m bringing home only the “best” books. To make a long story short, five of the books above are from authors I love while the other five books are ones I’ve already read… awesome! lol

What books would you like to own? Any from my list?

by Niki Hawkes