Books & Candy: Summer Edition

"You and me are like books and candy and I don't wanna give it up!" Okay I know that's not how the song goes but basically that how I feel about my two great loves- chocolate and reading. So I thought, why not combine them with this post? Lately I've been trying to incorporate more bookish posts that aren't just reviews or weekly memes and I'm really proud of this one. The idea is simple: pair a book and a candy. Here are four books that I've either read recently or remind me of summer and the snacks that I think go best.

I reread the Throne of Glass series every year in prep for the next book and this year is no exception. For the first time, though, I'm actually reading the UK paperbacks and not my well loved American hardcovers. I'm not too far into my reread yet, but it's easy to pair chocolate with this series. For one, it's Celaena's favorite desert (I always get a sweet tooth reading these books), and for another it's a pretty good compliment to one of my favorite fantasy series' ever. Chocolate and Throne of Glass are two classics that go well together. 

I just finished The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue but it immediately became a favorite of mine. The characters! The romance! The story! The historicalness! Queer! So many feelz! So many exclamation marks! You get the gist. I paired Sour Patch Kids with this book because they're sour then sweet then gone. While the book itself isn't sour (though it's incredibly sweet and I devoured it far too quickly) Monty can be a bit of an ass throughout the book.

Percy Jackson without blue candy is just not possible. Everyone knows blue candy just tastes better and is more aesthetically appealing. Which is why it was so hard for me to narrow down which blue candy would be featured with this book! I settled on Jolly Ranchers because they tend to last a while in my house and I love them so. I've been reading about Percy & co. since elementary school and I still return to the books every couple years to remember how much I love them. These will never leave my shelf. The book pictured here is actually Son of Neptune, a book I read two summers ago. It will forever be paired with vacation and the beach (books are like flypaper, after all) and even just the cover gives me stirrings of the car ride and trip.

Last but not least is Rebel of the Sands. I read this last summer and fell in love. The desert setting and cover (not a fan of the new covers) evoke hot nights and warm stories. I still haven't picked up the sequel but I'm sure I'll love that as well. I paired this one with Kit-Kats because they're both unassuming but fantastic. Kit-Kats have that tasty crunch and Rebel of the Sands has a wonderfully captivating story I was not prepared for when I opened it up.

That's it for this edition of Books & Candy and I hope you like it! I'm hoping to be able to do another (or two) before the year is out. What are your favorite book and snack combinations? Let me know in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday: Traitor to the Throne

Waiting on Wednesday is created by Breaking the Spine

Mere months ago, gunslinger Amani al'Hiza fled her dead-end hometown on the back of a mythical horse with the mysterious foreigner Jin, seeking only her own freedom. Now she's fighting to liberate the entire desert nation of Miraji from a bloodthirsty sultan who slew his own father to capture the throne.
When Amani finds herself thrust into the epicenter of the regime—the Sultan's palace—she's determined to bring the tyrant down. Desperate to uncover the Sultan's secrets by spying on his court, she tries to forget that Jin disappeared just as she was getting closest to him, and that she's a prisoner of the enemy. But the longer she remains, the more she questions whether the Sultan is really the villain she's been told he is, and who’s the real traitor to her sun-bleached, magic-filled homeland.
Forget everything you thought you knew about Miraji, about the rebellion, about djinni and Jin and the Blue-Eyed Bandit. In Traitor to the Throne, the only certainty is that everything will change.

Why I'm Waiting 

I loved Rebel of the Sands (review here) and I've been anticipating this one for a while. However... the cover change makes me sad. While I do love this new cover, and replacement for the original of Rebel cover (link here; yes I know the link doesn't go to the American version but that's the new cover regardless) I miss the stylized art of the original covers. And, now they won't match :(

Traitor to the Throne is released March 17th, 2017 and you can preorder the book here

Book Review: Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands, #1)

Author: Alwyn Hamilton

Website, Twitter, Instagram

Edition: Hardcover & Audible Audio Book

Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Goodreads Link

Rating: 4 Stars

This book and I had an interesting adventure.  Normally, I read a book by picking it up, turning pages, reading words, and then finishing it.  However, with Rebel of the Sands I got it as an audio book first.  I wasn't intending to fall in love with it, but enjoy it, so I thought it would be a good book to fall asleep to.  Since I tend to only buy audio books of novels I know for a fact I enjoy, this was a bit of an experiment.  Then, once I reached the halfway point or so I decided, because I loved it, I'd rather have a physical copy that I could touch and put on a shelf.  So I stopped listening to it and waited to go and buy it.  And then, after buying it weeks later didn't pick it up for another month or so.  But I did it- I finished it!  And I really, really liked it!

Rebel of the Sands is set in a wild west/middle eastern desert-type setting and follows Amani, a master marksman who is desperate to get out of her small town and escape the traditional life of a girl.  She escapes with the help of a foreigner who has ties to the rebellion and with him they traverse the desert to freedom.

I really, really loved this book.  I loved the setting, the mythology created by Hamilton for this world, and the characters.  I could go on and on about how wonderful this book is and sing its praises.  Basically, if you're looking for a nontraditional but still fantastic fantasy, pick this up.

But now onto what I didn't like and what led to the book only getting four stars instead of five.  Honestly, it's a matter of taste and what tropes I dislike in novels.  And these tropes aren't really ones I see other people complaining about, so I think I'm in the minority here.  Anyway, somewhat minor SPOILERS:

In the final third of the book a bunch of new characters were introduced.  That's fine, but suddenly we, the readers, were meant to be buddy-buddy with them and invested in them.  I hate when a torrent of characters are thrown into one place and without all the development of the main characters they're given huge roles and we're expected to just click with them.  I think part of my dislike of this is that I just can't connect with a character that quickly and I like to see development- it's what I enjoy most from books!  When new characters come around that's fine, but I want to see them grow and develop and be interesting before I actually appreciate them.  Anyway, that's why I couldn't give the book five stars.

Overall, this book is fantastic.  It raises interesting questions and also entertains.  If you even considered picking it up, stop considering and just pick it up.  You won't regret it!

May TBR

This may be a little optimistic considering I've only been able to finish four books a month lately, but I'm hoping that if I aim high I'll be able to reach it.

Currently Reading + Plan to Finish

I've been rereading Game of Thrones and it's so great to be back.  When I finish this book I'll be watching season one (which I've never seen).

I've also been listening to an audio version of Rebel of the Sands and hopefully it won't take me long to finish this one.

And I've only got about seven chapters left of Siege and Storm so my goal is to complete that tonight.

During the Rest of the Month

A Court of Mist and Fury comes out tomorrow (*squee!*) and hopefully I'll be able to start it as soon as it arrives.

Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge is an ARC I've been trying to read for a while but I keep getting distracted by other pretty books.  Hopefully this is the month!

The Crown's Game is another book that comes out this month and one that I've been anticipating for quite some time.  I'm going to start this one as soon as it comes out.

Winter is the final book in the Lunar Chronicles and I really, really need to finish this series.  I'm also terrified to see how it ends... but I've heard great things!

Brittany at Space Between the Spines is hosting a review train and this is the book I hope to read.  I don't normally read contemporary, but I do like them a lot on occasion, and this one comes out in the middle of the month so I think that's a perfect place to read it.

Other Bookish Plans

To finally go to a brick and mortar bookstore!  It's been over a hundred days and I'm having serious withdrawal :(

What are your bookish plans for the month?