Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Have Read So Far This Year

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books I Have Read So Far This Year


1. Scarlet (Scarlet #1) by A.C. Gaughen
This is definitely the best book I've read so far this year, especially considering I almost didn't read it. To get over the dialect, I listened to the audiobook, and the book is just amazing. You can read my review HERE



2. Code Name Verity (Code Name Verity #1) by Elizabeth Wein
This was such a great story of friendship set against the background of World War II.

Review: Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen (2)

Title: Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1)
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Acquired Via: Publisher
Release Date: April 1, 2014
For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

My Review

A lot of the book was reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast - unwilling girl kidnapped to break a monstrous curse. There were several other parallels, but I don’t want to give any spoilers so I won’t discuss it here. I did think that it was little convenient that when Cécile is first brought to Trollus she thought that all the trolls were “monstrous” but the one troll she is supposed to marry she thinks is beautiful. I wish that Tristan would have been, if not disfigured, then at least not the most beautiful person in Trollus. It would have been refreshing to have a less-than-perfect male lead in YA.

Review: Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Title: Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1)
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Acquired Via: Publisher
Release Date: April 1, 2014
For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

My Review

You're going to want to watch your feet while reading my review of Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen because I fear my gushing may stain your shoes. You've been warned. Yes, Stolen Songbird is that good. Strange Chemistry was kind enough to send me an ARC, and I swear I'll hug anyone from that publisher whenever I meet them. Seriously. But you're not here to read about my awkwardness - you want to read about how awesome this book is.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Spring 2014 TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books on My Spring 2014 TBR List



1. Ruins (Partials Sequence #3) by Dan Wells
This was released on March 11, 2014, and I used my Audible credit for this month to download the audiobook. I am so excited to finish this Dystopian series!



2. Hexed (The Witch Hunter #1) by Michelle Krys
I love reading about witches; they're probably my top fantasy characters. So, when I saw this described as The Craft meets Bring It On, I was sold. I received a review copy from NetGalley and I can't wait to get started.

Top Ten Tuesday: 2014 Debuts I'm Excited For

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten 2014 Debuts Amber is Excited For



1. A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller
January 23, 2014
Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.

After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?

I love historical fiction set in London. I don't think I have read anything set in London as late as the 1900's, but this looks extremely interesting.





2. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
January 28, 2014
Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, and I hope this retelling lives up to its greatness!

Waiting on Wednesday (35): Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1)
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release Date: April 1, 2014
For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.


I haven't read a whole lot of books centered around trolls and this one seems really interesting. Plus, witches, curses and prophesies are some of my favorite story elements.

What are you waiting on this week?