Book Trailer: The Beautiful - Renee Ahdieh

I'm a huge fan of Renee Ahdieh so I'm really looking forward to reading her upcoming book, The Beautiful, which publishes on the 8th of October. This trailer just has me even more excited!

New York Times bestselling author Renée Ahdieh returns with a sumptuous, sultry and romantic new series set in 19th century New Orleans where vampires hide in plain sight.

In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans is a safe haven after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent in the middle of the carnival season, Celine is quickly enraptured by the vibrant city, from its music to its fancy soirées and even its danger. She becomes embroiled in the city's glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group's enigmatic leader, Sébastien Saint Germain.

When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in Sébastien's own lair--the second dead girl to turn up in recent weeks--Celine battles her attraction to Sébastien and suspicions about his guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.

After a third murder, New Orleans becomes gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose--one who has now set Celine in his sights. As the murderer stalks her, Celine finally takes matters into her own hands, only to find herself caught in the midst of an age-old feud between the darkest creatures of the night, where the price of forbidden love is her life.

At once a sultry romance and a decadent, thrilling mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet.

Visit Renee Ahdieh's website for more information



Who else has this book on their wishlist? Or were you lucky enough to get an arc? If you've already had a chance to read it I'd love to hear all about how fantastic it is!

Review: Yumi - Renee Ahdieh

When Yumi receives word of the battle led against her brother and the Black Clan by Prince Raiden and the Dragon of Kai, and of Ōkami’s sacrifice, she resents the bars of her gilded cage all the more. She’s tired of being a sheltered bird, protected in the Hanami. What Yumi really wants is to strike a blow against all the forces that control her life. The time has come.

Flame in the Mist Duology:
Flame in the Mist
Okami (Free Short Story)
Yumi (Free Short Story)
Smoke in the Sun

Visit Renee Ahdieh's website for more information

Review:
Yumi is the second of two free short stories set between Flame in the Mist and the sequel Smoke in the Sun. They are very short reads and don't have a huge amount of plot to them but what they do really well is give readers a quick refresher on the major events of the first book so that we're ready to dive straight into the next one. That's something especially helpful to readers like me who have read a lot of other books in between and had become fuzzy on the details!

This may have been short but I really enjoyed being back in this world and seeing how Yumi reacts when she finds out what happened in the forest. Her brother left her in the Hanami where he thought she would be safe but she's managed to get useful information for them in her role as a maiko. After hearing about the latest attack she's no longer willing to sit back and let her brother do all the fighting though so I have a feeling she's going to play a much more active role in the next book!

These shorts have reminded me how much I enjoyed the first book and they've made me excited about seeing how the story ends in Smoke in the Sun.

Source: This is a free short story available from Amazon.

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Kindle:

Review: Okami - Renee Ahdieh

At the close of Flame in the Mist, to end a bloodbath between the Black Clan and imperial soldiers, Ōkami allows himself to be taken prisoner by Prince Raiden, Mariko’s betrothed. For someone who doesn’t believe in heroes, it’s a surprising choice: to trade his life for the lives of his friends and the one he loves. For he will surely be killed when he arrives in the Imperial City. But he decides if his life is the cost of love, it may not be too high a price after all.

Flame in the Mist Duology:
Flame in the Mist
Okami (Free Short Story)
Yumi (Free Short Story)
Smoke in the Sun

Visit Renee Ahdieh's website for more information

Review:
Okami is the first of two free short stories set between Flame in the Mist and the sequel Smoke in the Sun. They are very short reads and don't have a huge amount of plot to them but what they do really well is give readers a quick refresher on the major events of the first book so that we're ready to dive straight into the next one. That's something especially helpful to readers like me who have read a lot of other books in between and had become fuzzy on the details!

This may have been short but I really enjoyed being back in this world and seeing what is currently happening to Okami. We all know he allowed himself to be captured to give the others a chance to escape and he's fully expecting to be killed for his trouble so that just makes his actions even braver. I really hope we're going to see him manage to escape in the next book!

These shorts have reminded me how much I enjoyed the first book and they've made me excited about seeing how the story ends in Smoke in the Sun.

Source: This is a free short story available from Amazon.

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Kindle:

UK Cover Rebrand: Flame in the Mist - Renee Ahdieh

I absolutely loved Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh when I read it last year (you can see my review here) so I'm eagerly waiting for the sequel, Smoke in the Sun, to publish. Trust me if you're a fantasy fan who hasn't started reading this series yet you're seriously missing out!

Normally I hate it when publishers rebrand the covers of a series, especially when the original cover was as pretty as this one:

but then Hodder & Stoughton sent me the gorgeous new Flame in the Mist paperback that will be going on sale on the 8th of March and I fell in love.

Flame in the Mist Blurb:

The only daughter of a prominent Samurai, Mariko has always known that being a woman means she's not in control of her fate. Never mind her cunning or her skills as an accomplished alchemist, Mariko was raised for one purpose only: to marry.

At just seventeen years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed, a man she did not choose. But the journey is cut short when her convoy is ambushed by a group of bandits known as the Black Clan.

The lone survivor of the attack, Mariko swears revenge. She infiltrates the Black Clan disguised as a peasant boy and befriends their leader - but as she gets closer to her enemies, she will uncover a dark history of secrets that will force her to question everything she's ever known.

I still think the original cover is spectacular but I love the new version just as much and the colour is just beautiful. I hate collecting duplicates of books because really it's a waste of shelf space but my original hardback is a signed copy I got in one of my Fairyloot boxes and this matches the cover for Smoke in the Sun so perfectly that I just have to keep it!

Smoke in the Sun Blurb:

The highly anticipated sequel to Flame in the Mist - an addictive, sumptuous finale that will leave readers breathless from the bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn

After Okami is captured in the Jukai forest, Mariko has no choice - to rescue him, she must return to Inako and face the dangers that have been waiting for her in the Heian Castle. She tricks her brother, Kenshin, and betrothed, Raiden, into thinking she was being held by the Black Clan against her will, playing the part of the dutiful bride-to-be to infiltrate the emperor's ranks and uncover the truth behind the betrayal that almost left her dead.

With the wedding plans already underway, Mariko pretends to be consumed with her upcoming nuptials, all the while using her royal standing to peel back the layers of lies and deception surrounding the imperial court. But each secret she unfurls gives way to the next, ensnaring Mariko and Okami in a political scheme that threatens their honor, their love and very the safety of the empire.

So what do you think of the new cover design? Which version of Flame in the Mist do you prefer? Who else is as excited for Smoke in the Sun as I am?

My Favourite Books from the First Half of 2017

It's always interesting to look back and try to pick my favourite books of the year but it can be really hard to narrow it down to a reasonable number so I thought I'd make a start on my top books of 2017 list early by having a look at my favourites from January to June. I limited it to first reads only (the books I reread are already favourites so would have an unfair advantage!) and no more than one book per author (again some authors would end up on the list multiple times!). The books can be old or new as long as they're new to me but as it happened this time around they're all 2017 releases and there are quite a few debuts on the list which is great.

My favourite YA books from the first half of 2017:

(Click the links to read my reviews)

1. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
2. Dawn Study by Maria V Snyder
3. Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts
4. Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh
5. Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I don't really read contemporary YA so it's no surprise that this list is full of fantasy titles. We are really getting spoiled with the huge amount of YA fantasy being released right now and there are so many more books that I'm really excited to read and already suspect will end up on my final list at the end of the year!

My favourite adult books from the first half of 2017:

(Click the links to read my reviews)

1. White Hot by Ilona Andrews
2. Silver Silence by Nalini Singh
3. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
4. Scorpion Trap by Pippa DaCosta
5. Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

It doesn't surprise me that my favourite adult tiles are all branches of fantasy either, my favourite genres are still definitely urban fantasy and paranormal romance but fantasy in general always hits my hot spot! This list includes 4 of my favourite authors who are nearly always in my top book lists and Katherine Arden's debut has me incredibly excited to follow her writing career.

What are your favourite books of the year so far? Do any of mine make your lists too? If you have any fantasy recommendations (old or new) please do leave them in the comment, I can never have too many books on my to read mountain!

FairyLoot Unboxing - May 2017 "Warriors and Legends"

FairyLoot May Box "Warriors and Legends"

I've spent months trying to resist signing up for a subscription box but I've been eyeing up the FairyLoot box for a long time now and I finally gave into temptation in May. I was pretty sure I knew what the book would be and it was one I wanted in hardback anyway so I figured it was the perfect time to give it a try! I've looked into a lot of different subscription boxes and the FairyLoot one has always been the one that impressed me most, especially out of the UK boxes where the shipping costs aren't astronomical, so I'm very happy to say that I loved the contents and have continued my subscription.

I'm going to assume that everyone who is looking at this post either already received their box (especially since I'm so late writing this!) or doesn't mind spoilers so look away now if you don't want to know the contents!

Full contents of the May FairyLoot Box

I had a feeling that the book this month would be Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh and I was very happy to be proved correct. The book is wonderful (you can read my review here) and the hardback is absolutely gorgeous. I love the way FairyLoot put all of their books in a little bag to protect them from damage and they also include a beautiful print of the cover with a letter from the author on the back, matching bookmarks and a signed bookplate to stick inside the book.

We were all sent a candle from In the Wick of Time, there were actually two different types available (Flame and Mist) and I got the Mist version which smells so divine I keep having to open it just to have another sniff! The really cute Warriors and Legends tin is from The Tea Leaf Company and contains a Jasmine & Lychee Green Tea, I have to admit I'm one of those rare Brits who doesn't like tea so I'm going to give this to my mum to drink but I definitely want to keep the tin!

This gorgeous Lord of the Rings inspired bookmark by Ink & Wonder is probably my favourite item in the box and I think the feather pen from Flora’s Wonder Emporium is really cute too.

The box also included a second paperback book World Mythology in Bite-Sized Chunks by Mark Daniels, some FairyLoot exclusive socks with a Celtic design and a chapter sampler for Naondel by Maria Turtschaninoff (I've not read the first book, Maresi, yet but I've heard wonderful things about the series so I really need to get around to that soon!).

Overall I was really impressed with this box, I think by the time you add up the value of each item you're getting a fair amount for your money and I really enjoyed the fun of having to wait until the box arrived to find out what was inside it. The June theme is "Elementals" and the boxes are already shipping but they still have a few of the July "Tricksters" boxes left so if you want one grab it now while you still have the chance.

Review: Flame in the Mist - Renee Ahdieh

New Cover

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn, comes a sweeping, action-packed YA adventure set against the backdrop of Feudal Japan.

Mariko has always known that being a woman means she's not in control of her own fate. But Mariko is the daughter of a prominent samurai and a cunning alchemist in her own right, and she refuses to be ignored. When she is ambushed by a group of bandits known as the Black Clan enroute to a political marriage to Minamoto Raiden - the emperor's son - Mariko realises she has two choices: she can wait to be rescued... or she can take matters into her own hands, hunt down the clan and find the person who wants her dead.

Disguising herself as a peasant boy, Mariko infiltrates the Black Clan's hideout and befriends their leader, the rebel ronin Ranmaru, and his second-in-command, Okami. Ranmaru and Okami warm to Mariko, impressed by her intellect and ingenuity. But as Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she uncovers a dark history of secrets that will force her to question everything she's ever known.

Flame in the Mist Duology:
Flame in the Mist
Okami (Free Short Story)
Yumi (Free Short Story)
Smoke in the Sun

Visit Renee Ahdieh's website for more information

Review:
I absolutely loved Flame in the Mist, I'm definitely putting it in my favourite books of the year category and I'm already desperately awaiting the sequel. Renee Ahdieh's writing is so beautiful and she completely pulled me into her world from the first page. This story has obviously taken some inspiration from Mulan but it's set in Feudal Japan rather than in China and the story doesn't follow exactly the same path as the original. There is enough to remind you of Mulan but it equally holds up as a story in its own right.

Mariko has spent her whole life knowing that her only real task in life is to marry whoever her parents deem to be the best match for her. No matter how much she loves studying and no matter how skilled she is at alchemy her future has already been mapped out for her, especially now her parents have agreed to a political marriage to the Emperor's illegitimate son. She is on her way to the city to prepare for her marriage when her party is ambushed by The Black Clan, a notorious group of rebels who are considered a dangerous threat. When Mariko is left alone in the woods with no way back home and no idea who she can trust she decides to disguise herself as a boy and infiltrate The Black Clan to try and find out who paid them to kill her. When she finally manages to find the rebels she's in for quite a shock though, nothing is what it first seemed and the more she learns about them the more she starts to question everything she's ever been told.

While Mariko is infiltrating The Black Clan we also follow her twin brother Kenshin as he searches for his sister. Kenshin is a fierce samurai warrior who puts honour and decency above all else but he will do whatever it takes to find Mariko and bring her home safely, even if it means crossing lines he never would have considered before. I loved how multifaceted all of these characters were, nothing is black and white and they each have complicated motivations for their actions. Alongside Mariko and Kenshin there are some fabulous side characters who add lots of depth to the story, and Renee Ahdieh's descriptive writing will have you smelling the cherry blossoms as you read.

This is a story full of secrets and betrayal, everyone is hiding something and there are so many different plots going on it can be hard to keep track of them. There is just a hint of romance which I'm pretty hopeful will be expanded upon in the second book, I'm not going to say too much but there are several potential couples I'm already rooting for and there wasn't a single case of insta-love in sight. As much as I enjoyed The Wrath and the Dawn I think Renee Ahdieh has stepped things up a gear here and I can't wait to see how the story ends.

Source: Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Original Cover

Hardback / Paperback / Kindle:

Review: The Wrath and the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh

One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

Inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, The Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.

The Wrath and the Dawn Duology:
The Moth and the Flame (Short Story)
The Crown and the Arrow (Free Short Story)
The Wrath and the Dawn
The Mirror and the Maze (Short Story)
The Rose and the Dagger

Visit Renee Ahdieh's website for more information

Review:
I have to admit I was a little nervous when I picked this book up, it has a lot of mixed ratings amongst my friends so I knew it was going to be one of those books that I'd either love or hate but the cover made me buy it anyway and now, having read it, I have absolutely no regrets. Right from the very first page I was drawn into the world that Renee Ahdieh has created and her writing is absolutely beautiful. She paints such a vivid picture of Khorasan that it's almost more like watching a movie than reading a book and I was enjoying the story so much that I'd ordered the sequel before I even hit the halfway point.

I loved Shahrzad's character in the beginning, the way she was so bravely determined to be chosen as the Caliph's next bride so that she could turn the tables on him and kill him before he could kill her and the fact that she obviously has the skills to back up her quest. I'll admit things go a little wobbly for her when she arrives at the palace and can't quite bring herself to carry out the deed but you know what? I was so sucked into the story that it really didn't bother me all that much, especially when you start to see that there's much more to Khalid's side of the story than you first suspect. I'm not a fan of insta-love but the way their relationship developed didn't feel too rushed for me, the attraction was there from the beginning but I didn't think feelings started getting involved until they'd started getting to know each other a little better.

Add in the fact that I really enjoyed getting to know the side characters and I just found this an incredibly enjoyable story that I ended up devouring really quickly. It's taken me a long time to get around to typing up my review (it's a good job I take notes because I'm ridiculously behind again at the moment) but now that I finally have I'm excited that I'll be able to pick up the short stories and finally read the sequel. The Wrath and the Dawn had a pretty killer cliffhanger so I'm desperate to see what happens next!

Source: Purchased

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Paperback / Kindle:

Review: The Crown and the Arrow - Renee Ahdieh

Seventy-one days and seventy-one nights had come and gone since Khalid began killing his brides. This dawn, Khalid would mark the loss of the seventy-second girl, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. Khalid didn’t know how many more of these dawns he could take. And there was something about this latest girl that piqued his interest. Not only had she volunteered to marry him, but at their wedding ceremony, she had seemed not the least bit afraid. In fact, what he had seen in her eyes was nothing short of pure hatred. She was about to lose her life. Why wasn’t she afraid? Why did she hate him so? He had never before gone to his wife’s chambers before her death at dawn. Tonight would be different.

The Wrath and the Dawn Duology:
The Moth and the Flame (Short Story)
The Crown and the Arrow (Free Short Story)
The Wrath and the Dawn
The Mirror and the Maze (Short Story)
The Rose and the Dagger

Visit Renee Ahdieh's website for more information

Review:
Although The Crown and the Arrow is set right at the beginning of The Wrath and the Dawn and technically considered a prequel I'd actually recommend reading the full length novel first because you'll appreciate this story much more if you're already familiar with the characters. It's not long enough on it's own to let you get to know anyone so I don't think it would have as much of an impact if you read it first.

This is basically Khalid and Shahrzad's first meeting but from his point of view rather than hers and I did enjoy getting to see what he was thinking when he found out that she volunteered to be his next bride.

It seems a bit petty to complain about the length of a free short story (this is around 9 pages long) but I really would have loved more from Khalid's point of view. I'm definitely looking forward to finding out how the story ends in The Rose and the Dagger though.

Source: Free Kindle book from Amazon

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Kindle:

Review: The Moth and the Flame - Renee Ahdieh

It started as playful, if barbed, banter before rising to a fateful wager with a most notorious rake—the Captain of the Guard, Jalal al-Khoury—who may have finally met his match in a lovely, if haughty, handmaiden, Despina. But she, too, seems to have met her match in the handsome Jalal. What begins as a tempestuous battle of will and wit in short order becomes a passionate affair spurred on by tragedy of the worst kind.

The Wrath and the Dawn Duology:
The Moth and the Flame (Short Story)
The Crown and the Arrow (Free Short Story)
The Wrath and the Dawn
The Mirror and the Maze (Short Story)
The Rose and the Dagger

Visit Renee Ahdieh's website for more information

Review:
Although this short story is technically set before the start of The Wrath and the Dawn I'd actually say it's probably better to read it after the book because you'll already be familiar with the characters involved. I don't think I'd have enjoyed this so much if I'd read it as a prequel so I'm glad read it later on.

It was really nice to get to know Despina a little better and see the beginning of her romance with Jalal. He's used to women falling all over him so he's quite taken aback when Despina doesn't seem all that interested, he goes on an all out charm offensive though and it's not hard to see why she finds him impossible to resist.

It was interesting to see Despina's take on Khalid and his first bride too, I expected to feel really sorry for Ava and I did to a certain extent but at the same time I can't help thinking that she caused an awful lot of trouble over something that's really quite stupid. Khalid had never lied to her or led her on, they had a marriage of convenience (something quite common historically, especially amongst royals) so yes I'm sure she wanted him to love her but under the circumstances I think she was expecting a little too much too soon and her actions were ultimately selfish ones that had disastrous consequences.

My one complaint about this story was that it was too short but I'm hoping we'll see much more of Despina and Jalal in The Rose and the Dagger and I'm really looking forward to continuing the series.

Source: Purchased

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Kindle:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I'd Like Santa to Leave Under My Tree

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's topic is Top Ten Books I'd Like Santa to Leave Under My Tree. I don't tend to get many books for Christmas, most people know I have a LOT of books already and are too afraid to get me more in case they buy ones I already have. My Dad shares my love of reading though and always likes to get books as a present so I have to send him a list of some different choices that he can pick from, that way I still get a sort of surprise but he knows he's buying something I want. So this is the list I've sent him & hopefully some of them will be waiting for me to open them on Christmas Day, otherwise I guess I'll just have to use some of my Christmas money to go shopping and hopefully find some of them in the January sales LOL.

1. Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner: I love the first two books in this series so can't wait to see how everything ties up in this final instalment!
2. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh: I keep hearing fantastic things about this book
3. Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill: I read this author's second book, Asking For It, recently and it blew me away. Her debut got fantastic reviews too so I definitely need to read this one.
4. Evernight & Soulbound by Kristen Callihan: I have the rest of the series already but it's a series I've been wanting to finish for a long time now. I need the US paperbacks to match the rest of my set though because I started buying them before a UK publisher had picked up the series.
5. Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre: I love steampunk and I've enjoyed everything else I've read by Ann Aguirre so I'm very curious to try this series that she writes with her husband.
6. Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs: I already own these books on kindle but it's one of my favourite series (I'm currently rereading it for the third time!) so I'd love to have print copies for my shelves.

So those are my choices! Which books are you hoping to find under your tree this Christmas?