General Fiction

My Contrary Mary

Posted on by The Novel Girl

The Lady Janies are back, y’all!! This time they’ve brought us the story of Mary Queen of Scots…if she were a shapeshifter…who turned into a mouse. Her beloved betrothed King Francis is the only one who knows her secret, but he’ll keep her confidence. That is until he meets his end. When Mary is placed on the throne how long will her secret remain a secret? What will happen if her secret becomes known?

I was so excited to get the galley for this book! I wanted it in whatever way that I could get it, and it happened to be the voice galley, which meant that the narration wasn’t amazing but that that’s no fault of the authors.


As expected, the book was delightful! I adored the “Janes” books, but I was so looking forward to the first “Mary” book, as I love Mary Queen of Scots. They didn’t disappoint! Told in shifting POVs, the Janies give us the trademark wit and humor that we’ve come to expect from them. The third person narrators are really where it’s at in this book, though, because they have all the tea! It’s like getting the juicy gossip from your best girlfriends at wine-down Wednesday. I’ll definitely be buying the hardcover to read over and over again, just like they’re previous books, and I can’t wait for more.

This book releases on June 22, 2021.

Most Anticipated Releases for the End of 2019

Posted on by The Novel Girl

Hey everyone!

As we’re about to enter the last quarter of this year, I thought I would share with you some of the releases that I am most anticipating for the remainder of the year!

There are so many great books releasing at the end of this year, so this is just a portion of them. They are only in date order, not in order of anticipation!

 1. Five Dark Fates (3 Dark Crowns, Book 4)- Kendare Blake- Releasing September 3

I absolutely love this series and can’t wait for the continuation of the series! I’m looking forward to finding out what happens following the events of book 3!

 2. The Institute- Stephen King- Releasing September 10

In this new installment from Mr. King, children with special gifts are stolen away from their homes in the middle of the night after their parents are murdered. They are then taken to The Institute and placed in rooms that look just like theirs, except there are no windows, and no way to escape. The Institute’s aim: to steal the essence of their gifts. Luke is one of these kids, and he is desperate to escape the place that no one has ever escaped.

I love everything King (with the exception of IT– not a clown fan) so I am very pumped for this one!

 3. The Testaments- Margaret Atwood- Releasing September 10

Taking place fifteen years after the van doors slammed on Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testamentstells the story that we’ve been waiting for: what happened to Offred and Gilead after those doors shut.

The Handmaid’s Tale is me second favorite Atwood (behind Alias Grace). I have loved the TV show, as well, and the take that it has taken on the events after the book, but I am looking forward to seeing Atwood’s vision for this second book.

 4. The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, Book 4)- Rick Riordan- Releasing September 24

Taking place after the events of The Burning Maze, book four of The Trials of Apollowill take Apollo to Camp Jupiter, where the Roman demigods are making a last stand, and need his help. The problem lies in the answer to their needs- it’s in the tomb of a long dead Roman ruler.

I am always excited to see the next installment in one of Uncle Rick’s series’ coming out, and this is no exception! This book will take us back to Camp Jupiter, so we will get to catch up with Frank, Hazel, Reyna, Tyson, and Ella, so this should be a great story!

 5. Full Throttle: Stories- Joe Hill- Releasing October 1

I know that I have said this so many times, but I am going to say it again (and again, and again…) I love short stories!! I also love Joe Hill, so this is a perfect combination and I am here for it!! This is one of my most anticipated reads of the Fall. They chose the perfect month for this release.

 6. A Kingdom for a Stage (For a Muse of Fire, Book 2)- Heidi Heilig- Releasing October 8

At the end of For a Muse of Fire Jetta was on the run, wanted for treason, murder, sabotage, and for her unique power: she can use her blood to capture spirits and bring life to inanimate objects. Jetta is also afraid that using this power will cause her to go mad and tyrannical like her biological father. She may have the power to change the tide of the raging war, but she must decide if saving her country is worth the possibility of losing her soul.

If you were reading this blog at the end of 2018 you know that For a Muse of Firewas my best fiction read of last year, and I wholeheartedly stand by that! That being said, I have been anticipating this sequel since I finished reading the first! It feels like I have been holding my breath and waiting forever for this, and it is almost time!!!

 7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- Illustrated Edition- Releasing October 8

This really doesn’t need much in the way of explanation. The last illustrated edition, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, released in October 2017 so it has been a two year wait for this edition. I’m looking forward to seeing Jim Kay’s illustrations in this new edition.

 8. Gravemaidens- Kelly Coon- Releasing October 29

Kammani and her family live in the walled city-state of Alu. She wants to be a healer, as her father was before her family was cast in to shame. When Abu’s ruler falls ill, her younger sister is chosen to join him in the afterlife. Her sister feels it’s an honor, but Kammani sees it as a death sentence. She sneaks in to the palace in order to heal the ruler, but finds much more than she bargained for. She is determined to find out the secrets of the palace, even if she must sacrifice her own life to do it.

This is the debut novel by this author, and it sounds like it is going to be a hit! This is going to be the first book in a duology, and is already getting some great reviews. I’m looking forward to reading it myself and reviewing it for you guys!

 9. Rage (Rogue Team International, Book 1)- Jonathan Maberry- Releases November 5

An Island off of the coast of Korea is attacked by a bioweapon that drives everyone insane with murderous rage. The people behind the weapon want to either unify or destroy Korea, nothing in between. This is driving the United States, Japan, and China to the brink of war as terrorists are threatening to release the rage bioweapon in a way of destruction and slaughter. This is a job for Joe Ledger and his newly formed team of international troubleshooters. This is their first mission, as they work with agents from North and South Korea to stop this terror cell and prevent a war.

Joe Ledger goes International?! A bioweapon causing rage?! Yes, please!!! Thanks for the early Christmas gift Mr. Maberry!!!

 10. Winterwood- Shea Earnshaw- Releases November 5

It is said that the woods surrounding Fir Haven are magical. Only Nora Walker knows for sure. She is rumored to be a witch and she and the women in her family have always had a connection to these woods. This connection leads her Oliver, the boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys in to the woods in the middle of a snowstorm. He shouldn’t have survived, but he did. She feels a shift in the woods at his presence and feels that she needs to find out more. Oliver has secrets that he’d prefer to keep hidden. Should we fear what’s hidden in the dark, dark, woods?

Earnshaw’a sophomore novel promises to be just as much magical fun as her debut novel, The Wicked Deep. Who doesn’t love a good haunting, witchy tale when the weather gets colder and the nights get longer? I sure do!

 11. From Flame and Ash (The Elements of Five, Book 2)- Carrie Ann Ryan- Releasing November 19

Lyric lost everything when she found out what her calling is. Now she must put aside her pain to train to be the Spirit Priestess that she is prophesied to be. Just as she is starting to learn more about what her journey will entail, a Seer’s wish and the calling of the Lumiere kingdom calls her forth, and thrusts her in to another journey that will test her trust in order to survive and keep those that she loves alive.

Ryan’s debut YA Fantasy novel, From Breath and Ruin, was a wonderful feat of world building and character development with a unique story, and I am thrilled to see where this second book in the series goes.

 

 

Those are the books that I have for you right now! Are there any that you are particularly excited about? Any that I need to be on the look out for?

 

Let me know!!

 

The Nest

Posted on by The Novel Girl

the nest cover

Author: Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

Genre: General Fiction

Publisher: Ecco

Pages: 368

 

The Plumb family takes family drama to a different level! They have each spent their early adulthood watching their trust fund, which they lovingly call “The Nest”, continually grow and have come to count on it. As they are on the brink of finally receiving it, their irresponsible brother gets behind the wheel, inebriated, with a nineteen-year-old passenger. The accident that follows puts them all in danger of losing The Nest. After confronting their brother, he promises to make things right. Will he follow through on his word, or leave them all and their lives, in circumstances that they never foresaw?

This is another novel that I have been looking forward to making my way to since I heard about it. I was very excited to finally get to it. Sadly, again, I was a bit disappointed. The characters were all, mostly, well developed. There were a couple that could have, possibly, been a bit more rounded out, but overall, they were fleshed out. The storyline was decent, and well thought out. I have no real qualms with that. The book just fell a little bit flat for me. I can’t exactly put my finger on what the issue was with it, I just wanted a little bit more from it. I certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it, though. It just didn’t quite deliver for me, personally.