{ Something Old, Something New } April 2018

Ugh, I'm a little late with this for this month. Sorry. :(  There has just been a lot going on... I'm taking an impossible graduate class with a ridiculous amount of group work outside of class time (kill me), our house got tented for termites, and we had to say goodbye to our sweet wonderful old dog Josie. So I've been all over the place for a week or so, but I'm starting to get back on track.

{ Something Old, Something New } is a meant to help us focus on the new releases in our TBR piles and also hand-pick some older books that we've been meaning to read.

On my reading list for March 2018 was...

{ Something Old }

The Glass Sentence
by S.E. Grove

Release date: June 12, 2014
Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 439
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Suggested tags: middle grade, fantasy



I haven't posted my review yet... but it will be up soon!


{ Something New }
The Unbinding of Mary Reade
by Miriam McNamara

Release date: March 6, 2018
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 336
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Suggested tags: young adult, historical fiction, 18th century, pirates, LGBTQ



You can read my review here!

On my reading list for April 2018 is...

{ Something Old }

Caraval
by Stephanie Garber

Release date: January 1, 2017
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 407
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Suggested tags: young adult, fantasy



First in the Caraval series. From Goodreads:

"Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away."

I read this one once before and didn't *love it* like I expected to, but it was during middle-of-the-night feedings with my then-newborn and I'm not sure my brain was really functioning at the time. It deserves a reread.


{ Something New }

Legendary
by Stephanie Garber

Expected publication date: May 29, 2018
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Suggested tags: young adult, fantasy



Second in the Caraval series. From Goodreads:

"Stephanie Garber’s limitless imagination takes flight once more in the colorful, mesmerizing, and immersive sequel to the bestselling breakout debut Caraval

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister's. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice. But now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval...the games have only just begun."

See what I did there? :D It's a Caraval-fest this month! I got an eARC through NetGalley of Legendary and I'm excited to read it, but I felt like I needed to do another run-through of Caraval first.



What's on your { Something Old, Something New} reading list for this month? Pick a book that you've been meaning to read but haven't yet (your Something Old) and a new release or soon-to-be-released book (your Something New), read and/or review them, and share a link to your posts here or tweet it at me @PidginPea! I'd love to share your books and reviews when I do my { Something Old, Something New } post at the start of each month. If you'd like to read/review more than 2 books, be my guest! I'm hoping I can do { Something Old, Something New } AND a "something borrowed" and a "something blue" in the future too!

Want to put a { Something Old, Something New } button on your blog? I'd love that! Just copy and paste the code in the box below. I made the button using DeviantArt stock resources from flameshaft, gimei, and spiritsighs-stock and fonts from dafont.com and kevinandamanda.com.

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{ Waiting on Wednesday } April 4, 2018

Man. It's been so long since I've done one of these, and that makes me sad because I love them! It's so fun to see what everyone is looking forward to reading!


{ Waiting on Wednesday } is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we can share upcoming releases that we just can't wait to get our hands on.



Beyond a Darkened Shore
by Jessica Leake

Expected publication date: April 10, 2018
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Suggested tags: young adult, fantasy, mythology



From Goodreads:

"The ancient land of Éirinn is mired in war. Ciara, Princess of Mide, has never known a time when Éirinn’s kingdoms were not battling for power, or Northmen were not plundering their shores.

The people of Mide have thankfully always been safe because of Ciara’s unearthly ability to control her enemies’ minds and actions. But lately, a mysterious crow has been appearing to Ciara, whispering warnings of an even darker threat. Although her clansmen dismiss her visions as pagan nonsense, Ciara fears this coming evil will destroy not just Éirinn, but the entire world.

Then the crow leads Ciara to Leif, a young Northman leader. Leif should be Ciara’s enemy, but when Ciara discovers that he, too, shares her prophetic visions, she knows he’s something more. Leif is mounting an impressive army, and with Ciara’s strength in battle the two might have a chance to save their world.

With evil rising around them, they’ll do what it takes to defend the land they love…even if it means making the greatest sacrifice of all."

This sounds like a mix of fantasy, history, and Celtic/Norse mythology. And I've heard fairies too? Um, yes please. To all of the above. I'm so glad this comes out on the 10th so I don't have to wait for it any longer!!



What reads are you waiting on this week? Let me know in the comments!

Review: Bad Mermaids Make Waves by Sibéal Pounder

Bad Mermaids Make Waves
by Sibéal Pounder
illustrated by Jason Cockcroft

Available as: hardcover
Pages: 256
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Publication date: May 1, 2018
Suggested tags: middle grade, fantasy, mermaids



From NetGalley:

"A trio of smart and stylish mermaids are about to make a splash in this hilarious start to a new middle-grade series that's The Little Mermaid meets My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish.

Mermaids Beattie, Mimi, and Zelda's summer on land with temporary legs is going swimmingly-until they receive a strange message ordering them to return home at once. The beloved queen of the Hidden Lagoon has been fishnapped, and some seriously bad mermaids have taken over instead! Now, the girls are the only ones who can stop them.

If they're going to save the day, they'll need a clam car, some piranha-print nail polish, and possibly a talking seahorse named Steve (well, okay, maybe not the seahorse). Can they become bold and bad enough to turn the tides in their favor, before it's too late?

Filled with magical mysteries, fabulous shell fashions, and three fin-tastic protagonists to root for, Bad Mermaids Make Waves is a hysterical new middle-grade adventure that will have readers begging for the sea-quel."

Mystery-solving mermaids with multicolor hair! A snarky talking seahorse with a set of false teeth for a bedroom! A giant shark that is actually a floating 5-star(fish) restaurant! A sport called shockey that is kind-of sort-of like underwater Quidditch! What more do you WANT out of life??

Summary: Beattie and her friends, twins Mimi and Zelda, are loving their summer on land... until they receive crabmail with a mysterious message from Arabella Cod, the queen of the mermaid lagoon. She is cutting their on-land adventure short and asking that they return to the lagoon. But why? And why does it look like she didn't get to finish her message? As soon as they turn back into mermaids and head back to the lagoon, they realize that something very strange is going on in their city of Swirlyshell...

What I liked: Ok, hello, MERMAIDS. With colorful hair. And awesome fashions. And tail accessories. Heck YES. I want to be one of them.

And these three little mermaids know how to solve a mystery! The whole process of collecting clues, checking alibis, and piecing things together was great. I think young mystery lovers, especially those who are new to longer chapter books, would really enjoy this one. There's enough time spent on the mystery to be able to add up the clues along with them and figure it out as they do, but it's perfectly balanced with other action and exploring and general silliness so that it never gets boring.

Also, can I please live in this fabulous world that they live in?? I love that there's five different areas and they're all so unique, with different scenery and trends and places to visit, and the mermaids living there have different personalities and interests. Beattie's mom is an awesome explorer-journalist who travels to the far reaches of their world, and I kind of want to be her when I grow up.

And ohmygoodness I want to adopt Steve the talking seahorse. He's just too cute with his little glasses and bow tie in the illustrations, dancing with his favorite cartoon... And when he gets separated from Beattie and he has like a tiny seahorse panic attack and is all "don't leave me Beattie you're my reason for living!!" ... I can't. He's too precious.

What I didn't: The mystery has a bit of a twist, which I liked, but then the big whodunnit that we were following this whole time... just kind of... dies. Like, we know who did it and we get a giant info-dump of why, but then... that's it? (SPOILER - highlight to read: Ommy gets captured in a giant shark and Beattie says, "Take him away!" and then... WHAT?? Where are they taking him? Is there mermaid jail?) And (SPOILER - highlight to read: Mimi and Zelda free their parents and all the other palace mermaids and they're just kind of like, "Hey! You did it! Good job! Moving on..." Wait, what?? Did they KNOW their daughters were capable of saving the entire lagoon AND their own lives?? Were they worried at all that they might be trapped in this sunken ship forever and no one would know where to look for them?? I NEED SOME ANSWERS HERE.) But maybe that's just my grown-up brain working too hard, and the actual intended audience for this book wouldn't mind that at all. *shrug*

TL;DR: A fast-paced and fabulously silly mystery starring smart and stylish mermaid friends. And Steve the talking seahorse. I snort-laughed multiple times and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series!

(And p.s., just a note if you're looking into this book on Goodreads: Goodreads seems to be a little confused right now about what book goes with this title... I think the original UK version was just Bad Mermaids and the US version is Bad Mermaids Make Waves... which may also be the title of the UK sequel? I'm not sure. Neither is Goodreads.)


Overall rating: I loved it! I thought this book was great! I might buy it for myself and I would definitely recommend it to others.


{ Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy. My reviews are honest and my opinions are my own; your reading experience may vary, so give it a read and see what you think. :) }

{ Favorite quotes from Bad Mermaids Make Waves }

      "As you know, I put this summer initiative in place so every young mermaid would stop complaining that they wanted legs, swimming around singing songs about it, and just generally being insufferable."

      " 'In their paintings of mermaids, we're all sitting on rocks, combing our hair and smiling, which is nonsense because no one can comb wet hair without doing the AAARGH KNOTS face.' "

      " 'You have a talking sea horse.'
     ' Excuse you,' the sea horse said, shooting over to Zelda's face. 'I thought we were all in agreement that I am a miracle.'"

      " 'GET OUT OF THE WAY!'
     'WATCH YOUR FINS!'
     'YELLING MAKES ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT MY LIFE!' came the shouts from the crowd."

{ Follow Sibéal Pounder }

blog • Twitter • Goodreads

{ Something Old, Something New } March 2018

Wheeee, let's get this going again!!

{ Something Old, Something New } is a meant to help us focus on the new releases in our TBR piles and also hand-pick some older books that we've been meaning to read.

On my reading list for March 2018 is...

{ Something Old }

The Glass Sentence
by S.E. Grove

Release date: June 12, 2014
Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 439
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Suggested tags: middle grade, fantasy



First in The Mapmakers Trilogy. From Goodreads:

"She has only seen the world through maps. She had no idea they were so dangerous.

Boston, 1891. Sophia Tims comes from a family of explorers and cartologers who, for generations, have been traveling and mapping the New World—a world changed by the Great Disruption of 1799, when all the continents were flung into different time periods. Eight years ago, her parents left her with her uncle Shadrack, the foremost cartologer in Boston, and went on an urgent mission. They never returned. Life with her brilliant, absent-minded, adored uncle has taught Sophia to take care of herself.

Then Shadrack is kidnapped. And Sophia, who has rarely been outside of Boston, is the only one who can search for him. Together with Theo, a refugee from the West, she travels over rough terrain and uncharted ocean, encounters pirates and traders, and relies on a combination of Shadrack’s maps, common sense, and her own slantwise powers of observation. But even as Sophia and Theo try to save Shadrack’s life, they are in danger of losing their own.

The Glass Sentence plunges readers into a time and place they will not want to leave, and introduces them to a heroine and hero they will take to their hearts. It is a remarkable debut."

This sounds spectacular. It's been on my "must read" list for forever. A middle grade version of The Girl from Everywhere, perhaps? If so, I shall devour it.


{ Something New }
The Unbinding of Mary Reade
by Miriam McNamara

Release date: March 6, 2018
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 336
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Suggested tags: young adult, historical fiction, 18th century, pirates, LGBTQ



From Goodreads:

"A swashbuckling, smart novel based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack.

There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mother, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy granny, where a girl could never be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a hired sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s profession—and her safety—depend on her ability to disguise the fact that she’s a girl.

Leastways, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and right in the middle of the swashbuckling crowd of bloodthirsty pirates, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate. The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain and earns herself a spot among the pirates’ crew.

For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living life as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything—her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life."

Queer lady pirates swashbuckling around the Caribbean? Shiver me timbers. This one's been getting some weak reviews - I'm hoping I'll love it though, because it sounds awesome.



What's on your { Something Old, Something New} reading list for this month? Pick a book that you've been meaning to read but haven't yet (your Something Old) and a new release or soon-to-be-released book (your Something New), read and/or review them, and share a link to your posts here or tweet it at me @PidginPea! I'd love to share your books and reviews when I do my { Something Old, Something New } post at the start of each month. If you'd like to read/review more than 2 books, be my guest! I'm hoping I can do { Something Old, Something New } AND a "something borrowed" and a "something blue" in the future too!

Want to put a { Something Old, Something New } button on your blog? I'd love that! Just copy and paste the code in the box below. I made the button using DeviantArt stock resources from flameshaft, gimei, and spiritsighs-stock and fonts from dafont.com and kevinandamanda.com.

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Review: 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough

13 Minutes
by Sarah Pinborough

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 320
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication date: October 3, 2017
Suggested tags: young adult, mystery, thriller



From Goodreads:

"Natasha’s sure that her friends love her. But does that mean they didn’t try to kill her?

Natasha is the most popular girl in school. So why was she pulled out of a freezing river after being dead for thirteen minutes? She doesn’t remember how she ended up in the icy water that night, but she does know this—it wasn’t an accident, and she wasn’t suicidal.

Now Natasha’s two closest friends, who are usually her loyal sidekicks, are acting strangely. Natasha turns to Becca, the best friend she dumped years before, to help her figure out the mystery.

At first Becca isn’t sure that she even wants to help Natasha. But as she is drawn back into Natasha’s orbit, Becca starts putting the pieces together. As an outsider, Becca believes she may be the only one who can uncover the truth…which is far more twisted than she ever imagined."

Wow. That was a ride. Also my first Sarah Pinborough book - where have I been?? WHAT HAVE I BEEN MISSING???

Summary: I'm not sure I can summarize it any better than what's above without giving something away... and this is one of those where you don't want to know too much ahead of time.

What I liked: From start to finish, I kind of had an idea about where things were going or who was involved... but then everything changed and all my ideas were proven wrong and I had to start all over. I love books that do that to me - make me feel like I know what's happening and then rip the rug out. This one was kind of like a slow build-up, rather than an abrupt rug-ripping, which I enjoyed.

I mean, come on, you have to love the Mean Girls vibe that runs through most of this. The Natasha-Becca-Hayley-Jenny thing was just so strained and uncomfortable. The barbs they throw at each other, both subtle and not, were so fierce. I mean, I don't miss that part of high school and I certainly don't want to have any drama like that in my life ever again, but I'd be lying if I said I don't love reading about it.

And I really, really loved what I felt was the tipping point... the part in the theater (SPOILER - highlight to read: where Becca's new friend (crap I already can't remember her name) is killed by the light falling on her and Natasha is like "I REMEMBER" and you're like WAIT THIS SEEMS SUSPICIOUS and it all unravels from there)... *shudder* yeah that was good.

What I didn't: It was maaaybe just a little too long? I got halfway through the book and there's like a faux-reveal where it seems like everything's resolved but you know obviously it's not because you've still got a chunk of book left in your hand... and part of me was kind of wishing I didn't have that much left. Granted, it turned out to be exciting and fast-paced, but at the time I was feeling a little "ugh" about having that much to go.

And while I don't usually mind too much about smoking or partying or tasteful sex scenes in my YA, in this one the smoking scenes are written so it's almost glorified, to the point where I as a very-much-non-smoker found myself thinking, "Is it really that great? What am I missing?" It's written in just such an incredibly alluring way... So if you or the teen you plan to recommend this to are sensitive to being influenced, that's just something to keep in mind.

TL;DR: This is my first Sarah Pinborough book, but it definitely won't be my last. I'm really getting into YA thrillers lately and this was a great one.


Final verdict: I loved it! I thought this book was great! I might buy it for myself and I would definitely recommend it to others.


{ Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways for providing me with a review copy. My reviews are honest and my opinions are my own; your reading experience may vary, so give it a read and see what you think. :) }

{ Follow Sarah Pinborough }

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Good to Be Back!!

Hello, my fellow readers!

I can't believe the last time I posted was 2015... that's crazy! Life went a hundred different ways for me all at once and I unfortunately had to put blogging aside. I got accepted into grad school, I got a new job in a library, and then my husband and I welcomed a baby boy into our lives! I'm still working on finishing up my MLIS, and I'm stay-at-home-mom-ing for a bit with our little dude. Things are still crazy, but I feel like I can handle the craziness better now. :D

So I'm back to blogging! Things will be a little different... I won't be doing the New Release Round-Up posts anymore, because those took me FOR-EV-ER to put together and I just don't have that kind of free time anymore. (Finding time for both a shower and a load of laundry in any given day is a win.) I'm going to try to read and review as much as I can, and I want that to be the focus of my blog. I'll work on any other fun posts that I can in between reading and reviewing.

Thanks for reading! So glad to be back to book blogging! :)

New Release Round-Up: April 20-26, 2015

Young Adult


99 Days
by Katie Cotugno

Release date: April 21, 2015
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Suggested tags: young adult, romance, contemporary



From Goodreads:

"Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.

Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”

Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me."

Things We Know by Heart
by Jessi Kirby

Release date: April 21, 2015
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 304
Publisher: HarperTeen
Suggested tags: young adult, romance, contemporary



From Goodreads:

"When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.

After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all.

Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake."

Other YA new releases for this week:

Middle Grade


Castle Hangnail
by Ursula Vernon

Release date: April 21, 2015
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 384
Publisher: Dial
Suggested tags: middle grade, fantasy



From Goodreads:

"From the creator of Dragonbreath comes a tale of witches, minions, and one fantastic castle, just right for fans of Roald Dahl and Tom Angleberger.

When Molly shows up on Castle Hangnail's doorstep to fill the vacancy for a wicked witch, the castle's minions are understandably dubious. After all, she is twelve years old, barely five feet tall, and quite polite. (The minions are used to tall, demanding evil sorceresses with razor-sharp cheekbones.) But the castle desperately needs a master or else the Board of Magic will decommission it, leaving all the minions without the home they love. So when Molly assures them she is quite wicked indeed (So wicked! REALLY wicked!) and begins completing the tasks required by the Board of Magic for approval, everyone feels hopeful. Unfortunately, it turns out that Molly has quite a few secrets, including the biggest one of all: that she isn't who she says she is.

This quirky, richly illustrated novel is filled with humor, magic, and an unforgettable all-star cast of castle characters."

Other Middle Grade new releases for this week: