I love audiobooks and will usually listen to anything on audio, but recently I’ve have had a long line of DNFs.
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2015 Year End Review & Books and Sensibility by the Numbers
As we get into the new year Jess and I like to take some time and review what we’ve been up to on the blog this year.
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16 Things We Want To Do in 2016
16 Books We Want To Read In 2016
Kat and I searched all over the bookternet for 2016 books we want to read in the next year. Today’s post features a mix of 16 books we want to review on Books and Sensibility and our sister site Romance and Sensibility.
1. Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins (January 26, 2016)
This brand new historical romance series from Beverly Jenkins features a hero who is passing as white in the American West. I want to read more romance by and about black women and I’ve heard nothing but good things about this author – Kat
2. Salt to Sea by Ruta Sepetys (February 2, 2016) This YA novel is based on the real life events of East Prussian refugees seeking safety during WWII. A story like this feels very topical now. – Kat
3. Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (February 2, 2016)
I usually don’t like it when publishers bundle free novellas in a hardcover and I haven’t even started Winter but…. give it to me. – Kat
4. Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman (February 19, 2016)
This is a YA version of the Blackbeard story. I don’t know much about Blackbeard but . . . pirates. – Jess
5. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (April 26, 2016)
Funny story, this book was on our list for 2015 last year, however the book release got pushed back to 2016. I have an Audible credit just waiting for this. – Jess
6. The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Sky (May 17, 2016)
Two magicians. A magical competition ? This sounds a lot like The Night Circus so this one might be right up my alley. – Jess
7. Tone Deaf by Olivia Rivers (May 3, 2016)
A deaf music prodigy is swept away on a world tour by the lead singer of a popular punk band. If you’ve read this blog you know I’m With the Band Now situations are my genre kryptonite.- Kat
8. Romancing the Fashionista by KM Jackson (May 10, 2016)
In this romance a tough fashionista and ex-jock tangle. Like I said earlier, I want to read more POC authors so bring it on. – Kat
9. Addicted by Elle Kennedy (June 28, 2016)
I’m really enjoying the first book in this post apocalyptic romance series. It’s so crazy sauce. I may try it on audio. – Kat
10. This Savage Song (June 2016)
I think Victoria Schwab is a great writer and this new series is about a town run by monsters, including ones that use music to steal people’s soul. – Kat
11. The Serpent King by Jennifer Zenter (March 8, 2016)
This book has a boy whose father is one of those Pentecostal ministers who handles poisonous snakes. I think it’s interesting to see more YA handling religion and this book seems interesting.
12. Enter Title Here (August 2, 2016)
This book reminds me of the book How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got A Life, which I loved in high school and only later learned of the plagiarism scandal. In this book a straightlaced Indian-American overachiever lands a book deal and realizes she has to have some classic teen experiences to make her book more interesting.
14. Into White by Randi Pink (September 13, 2016)
This book is about a black girl who wakes up white. This book sounds super bizarre, but it’s so crazy it just might work. I didn’t know what they were going to do for this cover, but this one really works!. – Kat
13. Of Fires and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst (September 2016)
A princess with magical powers falls in love with her fiance’s sister. Can’t wait to see the cover for this one.(but I’m guessing it will have big serif text). – Kat
15. Heartless by Marissa Meyer (November 8, 2016)
*Grabby hands* – Kat
16. Flower by Shea Olsen and Elizabeth Craft (December 30, 2016)
A girl who has sworn off boys her entire teen years fall for a pop star. See above genre kryptonite. Also, by the time this book comes out it will be days away from 2017 ! – Kat
Okay, I have some review requests to write!
After by Anna Todd
- Release Date:October 1, 2014
- Genre:Contemporary Romance / New Adult
- Pages:592
- Publisher:Gallery Books (Simon and Schuster)
I’ve been known to do a bit of hate reading of NA, but since starting the romance blog(shameless self promotion is shameless) I’ve rounded a corner and have learned to understand and appreciate some of the genre’s tropes. I’m prepared to visit a generically named-idyllic-college with its brooding alpha rich boy-manwhore heroes and ingenue virgin heroines. But After seemed to take those tropes to a whole new level….It honestly felt like it tried to be bad on purpose. This book was just so bizarre.
As many of you know this was originally One Direction fanfiction (er, real person fic ? bandfic ?) that got crazy popular on Wattpad. I actually started this on Wattpad after hearing about Todd getting a 3 book deal. I didn’t think it’d be my speed, but I figured it would be unrealistic contemporary crack fun. It seemed like there had to be some kind of hook that garnered this story 6 million views and pushed this book to well over 500 pages.
Needless to say, I was wrong.
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The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
Since I’ve started blogging and paying attention to the adult lit world I have heard a lot about Margaret Atwood. She’s mostly known for her feminist writing and disturbing dystopic features. And while this book feature some of this, it’ just so ….bizarre. I really had to do some research to see what others were saying to make sure I understood it. The book editor of the Washington Post called it a “silly mess”… and it kind of was this for me. I have no idea how to really review this, since I don’t have much to compare it to, but here goes.
In an economic collapse in the Northeast, married couple Stan and Charmaine have lost everything. They live in their car, fearful of looters and the next day to come. When they have the opportunity to be apart of an economic experiment that requires them to move into the town of Consilience , an idyllic 50’s style town where everyone is given housing and work.. The only catch is they have to alternate a month being prisoners inside Positron prison and a month being a citizen in Consilience, leaving their home for their Alternates.
As you may suspect all is not what it seems and Stan and Charmiane get involved in a bizarre plot that include sex robots, a house of Elvis impersonators and adultery. So much adultery. The thriller-esque plot they get involved in just didn’t make sense. I’m not sure if this novel is satire or something. I feel like if I didn’t know who wrote this I’d be like, this is kind of misogynstic but because it’s Atwood it’s maybe satire. It just seemed like all these strong capable women had this plan and then they leave it to a bumbling man as their linchpin.
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