Can't Wait Wednesday #90

Can't Wait Wednesday is a wonderful meme hosted by Wishful Endings based on Waiting on Wednesday created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating. 

We Hunt the Flame
by Hafsah Faizal
Expected publication: May 14th 2019 
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Goodreads | Amazon| B & N | TBD

Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. 

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.

War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.
Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands. 

Wow..that blurb sounds so amazing! I hardly ever read a YA set in a middle east setting so I'm really looking forward to this. Besides, it's about time that we have more diverse characters in YA. 

Review: Opposite of Always

Opposite of Always 
by Justin A. Reynolds 
ebook, 464 pages
March 5th 2019 
by Katherine Tegen Books
ARC from Edelweiss
Goodreads | Amazon| B & N | TBD

Jack Ellison King. King of Almost.

He almost made valedictorian.

He almost made varsity.

He almost got the girl . . . 

When Jack and Kate meet at a party, bonding until sunrise over their mutual love of Froot Loops and their favorite flicks, Jack knows he’s falling—hard. Soon she’s meeting his best friends, Jillian and Franny, and Kate wins them over as easily as she did Jack. Jack’s curse of almost is finally over.

But this love story is . . . complicated. It is an almost happily ever after. Because Kate dies. And their story should end there. Yet Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Beautiful, radiant Kate. Healthy, happy, and charming as ever. Jack isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind. Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’ll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. And when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, he has to figure out what he’s willing to do—and let go—to save the people he loves. 

I haven't read a good YA contemporary for a while now so I was pleasantly surprised with this funny, sometimes a bit tragic romance. I love the fast-paced witty conversations between the main characters and how natural it seemed. Love the friendship between Jack, Franny and Jillian and just the overall journey of the book. Although the plot line of relieving the same time over and over again is nothing new, I just love how the author was able to spin this one with a few unique twists and turns. Love it to bits! But that ending is too vague for me. I was hoping for some closure for Jack and Kate. But all the time loops just get me super confused about what the ending is. 

Waiting on Wednesday #89: Shadow of The Fox

Can't Wait Wednesday is a wonderful meme hosted by Wishful Endings based on Waiting on Wednesday created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating. 

Shadow of the Fox
by Julie Kagawa
ebook 
Expected publication: October 2nd 2018
by Harlequin Teen

Goodreads | 

Once Every Thousand Years...

Every millennium, one age ends and another age dawns...and whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers holds the power to call the great Kami Dragon from the sea and ask for any one wish. The time is near...and the missing pieces of the scroll will be sought throughout the land of Iwagoto. The holder of the first piece is a humble, unknown peasant girl with a dangerous secret.

Demons have burned the temple Yumeko was raised in to the ground, killing everyone within, including the master who trained her to both use and hide her kitsune shapeshifting powers. Yumeko escapes with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll. Fate thrusts her into the path of a mysterious samurai, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan. Yumeko knows he seeks what she has...and is under orders to kill anything and anyone who stands between him and the scroll. A wish will be granted and a new age will dawn. 

I am a big fan of Julie Kagawa's books. First it was fairies then vampires and now demons? I really can't wait for this. 

Waiting on Wednesday #88: Mirage

Can't Wait Wednesday is a wonderful meme hosted by Wishful Endings based on Waiting on Wednesday created by Jill from Breaking the Spine where we highlighted an upcoming release that we're eagerly anticipating. 

Mirage 
by Somaiya Daud Hardcover, 320 pages 
Expected publication: August 28th 2018
by Flatiron Books
Goodreads | 

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon. 

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place. 

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection...because one wrong move could lead to her death. 

Another YA adventure in space! It sounds like the retelling of The Prince and the Pauper but with a gender twist. I hope that this YA debut will be amazing just like that blindingly beautiful cover.