4 books I can't wait for in Autumn/Winter '16

Week 6 of 13

I actually originally wanted to do this week's post on the topic of Great British Bake Off, which I have no doubt you know has waltzed into our lives once more in the arms of a delightful quartet of national treasures, to a round of tumultuous, ecstatic applause, and a few quietly sniffed tears of joys

But, you know, I thought it better to do it when I'd watched a few more episodes, and I also quickly needed to do this post before the books I was talking about got released, and then I'd have one less to talk about and this post would look a bit sad and empty...

Sorry, I'll stop now...

So anyway, I know there's only four months left till the end of the year, but that's OK, it's enough time for books I literally cannot wait to read to be released.

1) Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

I did a review for Six of Crows, the first book in this series, read it here if you want, and you'll know (if you did go back and read the review, which I doubt) that I LOVED it. Honestly one of the best books I read this year, and that's because there are only a few really, really memorable ones that stick out for the good reasons, and this was one of them. It had everything I love in a story- strong females, well-written romance, a fast-paced plot, double-crossing, smart-mouthed characters, sexy guys (looking at you, Brekker), intrigue, good world-building (most of the work had been done by the Grisha trilogy, admittedly) all sprinkled with a generous helping of banter.



Six of Crows ended on a hell of a twist and a cliffhanger almost (but not quite) as bad as Mark of Athena, and Crooked Kingdom will follow from that (presumably). After the turn of events of the previous book that even Kaz Brekker, criminal prodigy didn't see coming, he and his crew are not left in the position they expected to be in. With the lodestone of the group gone, the crew, with their already fragile loyalties, will be tested by rivals old and new, as the race and battle for the world-changing drug ensues.

Release date: 27th September 2016

I actually think this is the book I am most excited for. If Bardugo does the same kind of stuff she did in Six of Crows, I know I'm gonna love it. I can't wait to read it.

2) Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

Just a few things I need to say on this one...

I LOVE Rick Riordan. I'm putting that out there, because I honestly do. I was first introduced to him in Year 5, where a boy in my class brought Lightning Thief in, for the teacher to read to everyone, you know, the way they do in primary school. Literally the entire class, who didn't understand and appreciate how amazing Rick Riordan is, literally just messed around, made farting noises, plaited each other's hair, played with their Ben 10 watches etc, etc. - it was just me and one other friend of mine who were sitting at the front, grabbing the teacher's legs, and listening, riveted. When the teacher gave up our class as a lost cause and gave it back to the owner, I went up to him and asked him to borrow it- bearing in mind I didn't really talk to him much before that- I was kind of a bit of a cow to him, really. Thankfully, he didn't have the same stringent book-borrowing rules he does now (we're great friends now, don't worry) and I went home and read it, and my little ten year old mind was blown.



But the thing is, there are some authors, who can carry on developing and expanding and not let go of their original story forever. Like J K Rowling. And there others who, however unfairly it may seem, keep getting told to just let go. Now I'm not saying that Rick Riordan is as tenacious as Cassandra Clare but even a die-hard mythology fan like me, has a part of them (THAT THEY'RE NOT PROUD OF) going



And even though I enjoyed Sword Of Summer, I did remember having a few issues with it, and I vividly remember thinking that Percy and Magnus were carbon copies of each other. Honestly, replace Magnus' name with Percy and you would be none the wiser.

That being said, I really did enjoy Sword of Summer (LOVED Sam) and Loki's character was so intriguing and fascinating, I would LOVE to find out more about him. Think less:



...and more



He's still the silver-tongued god of trickery though, and his appearances in Sword of Summer were really entertaining to read, especially his whole father-daughter dynamic with Sam. I know we will see more of him, especially because he will have something to do with Thor's hammer disappearing. Oh, and I know that Sam is promised to Amir (who I know appears for like, less than a page but I love him regardless) but I really want her and Magnus to at least kiss.

Release date: 4th October

Really can't wait for this. It's gonna be good

3) Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas

Hmmm...

Now, I had a bit of an issue with these books. To cut things short: liked Book 1, lite-fantasy; pretty, sweet, fluffy stuff; lots of romancing and girly-ness (but not enough bad-ass-ness). LOVED Book 2, the right amounts of everything- there was great romance, (Chaolaena are the OTP) great fantasy aspects, great females ass-kicking, great pace and plot. Book 3 wasn't great- there were loads of new characters who were so boring and unmemorable and it was sooooooooooo sloooooooooooowwwwwwwww. Everytime I started reading it, I was like:



Whenever I put it down, I didn't want to pick it up again, and it was a bit of a struggle to finish it. It was like Deathly Hallows Part 1- it was all setting it up for the next installment, but Heir of Fire didn't do it as well as David Yates did. And Book 4:



Aelin and her Terrasen crew got SO. ANNOYING. Every one just kept going on about how awesome she is and how amazing her powers are and how much they love her, like the sun shines out of her bum crack and her shits smell of roses. All I saw was an irritating, patronising, self-absorbed, superior-feeling cow who thought she was above everyone else because of her surname. She's so determined to get her crown back because she thinks she's so right for her throne, but I bet she'll be crap at it. She'll be like a social justice warrior, and she'll do stupid things that will only help one small group of people, but will piss off and endanger a whole lot more. And for some reason, Maas has turned Chaol (who was my BAE) into a bit of a dick, made Aelin drop him like a hot potato and has introduced bloody Rowan as her love interest!



In Heir of Fire, there was absolutely NO sexual attraction between them at all, and I started enjoying their platonic, bickering relationship, kind of like an indulgent brother and his annoying little sister. Rowan found her annoying and self-absorbed, which she is, and then BAM! All of a sudden, he's having massive internal monologues about how goddamn sexy she is and  it's just so



I actually had quite a lot more issues with that book, so you might wonder why on earth I would be looking forward to Empire of Storms. Well, even though I don't have a lot of hope for Book 5, Maas is a really good author, and I really enjoy her writing. Who knows, she might *tentatively* bring it back, but I highly doubt it. I also just kind of need to see how she finishes the whole thing off, because I loved these characters in the first two books and invested too much into them to just discard them the way Maas did Chaol.

Release date: 6th September

4) A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir

The first book in this (I think) series was FANTASTIC. It was only afterwards that I came off my reading high and was able to think coherently that I realised that it actually wasn't that original, but for the first time, it didn't matter. It's like in Bake Off, when the contestants get given a challenge and decided instead of jazzing it up and using weird ingredients and trying to be all fancy, they'll keep it simple but just try to do it really, really well. And that's exactly what Tahir did. Her characters are all written so fantastically well, and Elias and especially Laia's developments as characters is really, really good. And the Commandant, man:



She was evil. An actual psycopath. Every scene that Laia had with her, I wanted to scream and put the book down because I was so scared she was gonna get caught, but the writing was so gripping and compelling I was mesmerised. And there were two love triangles, but even they was written so well and there was so much complexity, that even though I was shipping Laia and Elias like crazy, I couldn't help but feel for both Keenan and Helene.

Release date: 30th August 

This is so soon, and I cannot wait to read more of Laia and Elias' story, as well as all the other characters, especially Helene, who is so fascinating that I feel really sorry for her because I know that Laia and Elias will end up together, and I don't want the poor girl, bless her cotton socks, to end up heartbroken.



Any other books that I should be looking forward to or you think I might have missed? Please, please, please don't hesitate to tell me, because I honestly am feeling quite lonely now.