How the heck is it 2016 already? I was just getting used to writing 2015 on my papers (though I still, on occasion write 2012, which is weird.) Anyway, since I have time now and probably won't later, I decided I was going to make a list of a few books I want to read in 2016. Now, I know that I may not stick to this list, but putting it online will make me more motivated to do so. Also, I know for sure that I will be reading books that are not on this list because there are always new books I find out about and want to read. Besides, this isn't nearly 100 books and since, for the third year in a row, I want to read 100+ books (I've gotten it done in the past two years and probably before that, too) I definitely am going to have to read other books. These are just a few books I know from the beginning of the year that I'm interested in reading. 
I'll start this list off with one of my most anticipated books of 2016 (I should make a post on that, too). Okay, so I'm not sure if this even counts because I don't even know the title, but I'm really looking forward to reading Throne of Glass Book 5. I'm a little nervous that it won't come out in 2016 because I know basically nothing about it, but I'm really hoping it will because I'm not sure if I can wait two years for the next book in this heartstoppingly amazing series. Ooh, I just found the synopsis on Goodreads! That just made me even more excited for this book. 
Anyway, since other than that, I have no information on it, here's another book I've been waiting for for a rather long time and am very excited to read. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. As many of you may know, Cassandra Clare is one of my all time favorite authors and all her books in the Shadowhunter Chronicles are spectacular. Reading The Mortal Instruments is what really got me into reading. Before I loved reading but I didn't obsessively love reading (some people might say me pre TMI was better, haha.) This book was supposed to come out in 2015, but, unfortunately, it didn't. So the suspense is really built up for it, I actually already preordered the book. FYI all the first editions of this book are signed by the wonderful Cassie Clare, so if you want one, you better order it fast. 
For those of you who are unaware, Lady Midnight is book one of the Dark Artifices Series, which is the sequel series to The Mortal Instruments (one of my all time favorite series) as well as taking place in the same world as The Infernal Devices (Which is another one of my favorites). The Shadow World is so excellently built and Cassandra's books in it are only getting better and better. If you haven't jumped onto the Shadowhunter train, I highly suggest you do so. Start with either Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices Book 1) or City of Bones (Mortal Instruments Book 1). Both are wonderful. Anyway, Lady Midnight takes place five (I think) years after City of Heavenly Fire (Mortal Instruments Book 6) and follows the people of the LA Institute. Mainly, I'm told, Emma Carsairs (who we met in City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instruments Book 5) and City of Heavenly Fire). Recognize the last name Carstairs? Yeah, well, she's James Carstair's very distant relative. Other than Emma Carstairs, this book will also follow characters such as Mark Blackthorn, Julian Blackthorn, Octavia (Tavvy) Blackthorn, Livia Blackthorn, Ty Blackthorn, (Okay, yeah, a lot of the Blackthorn Clan), Christina Rosales and more. 
The book is about the aftermath of the Mortal War (I think that's what that war was called). In this book, the Fae are not in the best situation because basically all the Shadowhunters hate them for siding against them in the war. The Fae need help and come to the Blackthorns, and I suck at synopsis's so here's the actual one. 
Synopsis:
Los Angeles. It’s been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to to discovering exactly what it was that killed her parents and getting her revenge.

Raised in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian Blackthorn. A series of murders in the city catch her attention — they seem to have the same characteristics as the deaths of her parents. Could the murderer be the same person? And her attention isn’t the only one caught: someone has been murdering Downworlders as well. The Fair Folk make a deal with the Institute: if the Blackthorns and Emma will investigate the killings, they’ll return Mark Blackthorn to his home. The catch: they have only two weeks to find the killers. Otherwise it’s open war between faeries and Nephilim.

The Shadowhunters of the Institute must race against time to catch the killers, even as they begin to suspect the involvement of those closest to them. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.

This book is 720 pages. That's almost (5 pages away) as much as City of Heavenly Fire. Doesn't that make you wonder how long the rest of the series is going to be? Ha, and it might take me more than a couple hours to read. A day, at most. (Actually, it really depends on the amount of school work I have.) I'm just really excited to read this continuation of Cassandra's Shadow World as well as read more of Clare's excellent writing. 

This book literally comes out tomorrow, so I should probably get to reading (and first ordering) it soon. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. As some of you may know, The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken is one of my favorite series, so I'm excited to see what brilliance she's come up with now. I love Alexandra's writing style and her story plots and characters are festinating and impossible not to fall in love with. 
From what I know, Passenger is basically a time traveling scavenger hunt with higher stakes. I don't read a lot of time traveler books (the only ones I can think of right now are the Ruby Red Trilogy) so I'm pretty interested to see how well I like this genre. (Is time traveling a genre or just a category? I think it's just a category?) 
Here's the synopsis: 
passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them— whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are play­ing, treacherous forces threaten to sep­arate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home . . . forever

Sound good? I highly recommend it and I haven't even read it yet! I just have a lot of trust in Alexandra Bracken and her spectacular writing. 

Another Sarah J. Maas Book I'm looking forward to reading this year is A Court of Mist and Fury this is the second book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series that debuted last year. Personally, I do enjoy the Throne of Glass books more, but A Court of Thorns and Roses is off to a good start and I'm looking forward to seeing where this book series is going, especially since whatever Sarah J. Maas writes seems to turn into gold. Usually the first book in a fantasy series can be quite slow because of all the introducing of the world. A Court of Thorns and Roses started off slow but kicked up quite quickly. Sarah writes such complex and intriguing characters, it'll be fun to find out more about them in books to come. 
A Court of Thorns and Roses was very very very loosely based off of Beauty and the Beast and then 2/3 of a ways through it completely changed course, so I'm excited to see what happens on book II. 
The protagonist of this series is named Feyre (Faye-rah) (yeah, there are a lot of jokes about how Sarah J. Maas create her characters' names by pounding her fist into the key board.) She was just a regular human before she killed a wolf in the woods and was forced to come and live with the faerie Tamlin. Yes, this is a fae series. No. It's not those childish little faeries with wings. The faeries in these books are tall, strong, regal beings (with no wings) with super speed, hearing, reflexes as well as prolonged lives and special powers. While at Tamlin's spring Court she starts to develop feelings for him as well as meeting Tamlin's friend Lucien and the Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand. (p.s. there's a lot more action and stuff happening than this lame synopsis check out my review of A Court of Thorns and Roses, if you're interested)All these characters are simply fascinating and as I've said before, I'm quite excited to see where Sarah takes this series. 
(no synopsis provided because SPOILERS) (no cover has been released yet) 
This book is due to be released on May 3, 2016.
Another book on my TBR list that I'm looking forward to reading is Red Rising by Pierce Brown. This was not released this year, but the last book in the series is going to be, so I better catch up on the first two before it comes out (actually, I might not have the time.) The plot sounds simply fascinating to me, and I got interested in it after watching Christine from Polandbannas books hilarious skit to promote the book. 

Anyway, here's the synopsis: 

"I live for the dream that my children will be born free," she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them."

"I live for you," I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.

Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

Sounds interesting, huh? I'm really looking forward to reading this one this year. 

Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutjoksi is the third book in the Winner's Curse series, which I was surprisingly impressed by when I read the first two books in 2015. They're full of romance, intrigue and betrayal. In other words, just my kind of book. Since The Winner's Crime (Book 2) ended at such a pivotal point, I'm really curious to see how the series finishes. The characters are very interesting in these books as well as clever. If you're interested, feel free to check out my review of The Winner's Curse. I really flew through the first two books and I have no doubt that the third book will be just as good. 
​Released March 29, 2016.

The Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan debuts this year, the first book will be called The Hidden Oracle. I've been a fan of Rick Riordan ever since I was a wee third grader who became fascinated in mythology after reading the Percy Jackson and Olympians Series as well as the Kane Chronicles. I was a little disappointed in his new book- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, but I intend to read the second book to that when it comes out this year, also. (Second book is called The Hammer of Thor and ANNABETH'S GONNA BE IN IT!!!) 
Anyway The Trials of Apollo follows the god, Apollo, after he's been turned into a sixteen year old boy by Zeus. He now has to navigate the world without guaranteed immortality until Zeus decides to turn him back into a god. The world I've always loved the most from Rick Riordan is his Greek/Roman mythology world so I'm excited to be returning to it. PERCY'S GONNA BE IN IT! I'm so excited for this book. Also, I think we'll be seeing more of Artemis (Apollo's twin, goddess of the hunt) and I really loved her character in these books so this is gonna be fun. 
Release date for:
Hammer of Thor: October 4, 2016
Trials of Apollo: May 3, 2016

P.S. I did post a review of Magnus Chase Book 1, if you're interested in checking it out. 

A torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir comes out this year. I'm not sure how I feel about this book, because in all honesty I didn't enjoy the first book as much as I expected I would (it was really hyped up). Nevertheless, I still intend to give this series a second chance. Maybe not a third if I don't like the sequel. (Book one is An Ember in the Ashes, I have a review on it, if you want to check it out.) The setting of this story is in a Roman like empire, which is interesting. It's the characters I really don't like- the two main protagonists? Elias and Lia? Lia's really too much of a damsel in distress and Elias I just found annoying. Really, it's surprising to me that I'm even willing to try and read book 2, but I am. 
release date: August 30, 2015
No cover released yet. 

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard is one book I'll be picking up for sure sometime this year. It's the sequel to Red Queen, which debuted this year. If you remember my review (feel free to check it out) I enjoyed the first book, but wasn't overly impressed. It was very hyped up and kinda let me down a bit. There was bit of an instalove feel to it, which I didn't really like and I was able to predict every 'shocking' plot twist to occur. But I did love the main theme, don't trust anyone. And that's why I'm interested enough to pick up book 2, which is due to be released on February 9, 2015. 

Lady Renegades by Rachel Hawkins is the final book in the Rebel Belle series. I kind of see these books as a bit of a joke and have never really loved the series, but I did enjoy the humor enough to be willing to put the last book on my TBR list. The last book I felt eh about but whatever. Basically the idea of these books is popular girl, Harper Price is at the wrong place at the wrong time and becomes a Paladin, a powerful warrior who's supposed to protect the oracle, who turns out to be her arch nemesis, David. Chaos ensues, blah, blah blah. It's a light read that's full of humor, so if that sounds interesting to you, I have a review up on both books. 
Release date: April 5, 2015

Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid and First and Then by Emma Mills are two contemporary romance reads I'm looking forward to reading this year. They're both already released, but I never got around to reading them last year. I don't know much about them, but from what I do know, they sound impossibly cute. 

Never Always Sometimes: 

Never date your best friend.

Always be original.

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken.

Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids—the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they’d never, ever do in high school. 

Some of the rules have been easy to follow, like #5, never dye your hair a color of the rainbow, or #7, never hook up with a teacher. But Dave has a secret: he’s broken rule #8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It’s either that or break rule #10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember. 

Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichés, they’ve actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love.

first and Then: 

Devon Tennyson wouldn't change a thing. She's happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon's cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn't want them first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a book that I physically own and still haven't gotten around to reading. This series is insanely popular at the moment and I really need to start it. Hopefully putting that thought up here will motivate me to actually read it. These are fairytale retold with a sci-fi twist, I believe. Sorry these are starting to get rushed, I didn't realize this post would take so long and I have other stuff I need to get done! 
​
Here's the synopsis: 
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally is a book I'm really looking forward to reading. This is the seventh book in the Hundred Oaks series, a series of companion contemporary novels. Miranda Kenneally really knows how to write a romance and she's one of my favorite contemporary authors. Her books include Catching Jordan, Stealing Parker, Racing Savannah and Jesse's Girl. All beautifully written, hilarious and lovely stories. I reviewed each and every one, if you're interested, which I think you should be, because these books are simply magnificent.

Synopsis: 
Taylor’s always felt pressure to be perfect. That’s what happens when you are a senator’s daughter. So when she’s kicked out of private school for covering for her boyfriend’s not-so-legal behavior, she is devastated.

Things go from bad to worse as she joins what used to be her rival soccer team at Hundred Oaks High. The only person who seems to understand all that she’s going through is her older brother’s best friend, Ezra. But Ezra has secrets of his own. Will Taylor repeat past mistakes, or can she score a fresh start?

Expected: July 1, 2016
(no cover released) 

Empire of Dust by Eleanor Herman is a book I'm especially looking forward to. This is the sequel to that book I recently review (and absolutely loved) called Legacy of Kings. This series follows Alexander the Great in his teen years (it's fantasy so it's not exactly historical fact, though, interesting fact, Eleanor Herman is a historian.) I really loved this book, it's plot, idea, and especially its characters. I grew very attached, very quickly as well as getting intriguing from page one. I highly recommend this book to any of you fantasy lovers. 

release date: June 28, 2016, no cover released. 

The Fifth book in the Falling Kingdoms Series by Morgan Rhodes is one I eagerly anticipate. As my last review shows, I absolutely fell in love with this series after reading the Frozen Tides, the fourth book (I've reviewed all four books, if you want to check them out). The characters and plot of this series are fascinating (well, I don't like one character, but whatever.) Anyway, there is no title or cover or even release date for this book aside from 2016, so I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens with that. 

The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson is the last book in the Remnant Chronciles, which I've been reading pretty much since the first book was released. I will be sad to see this series go. The ending of the second book, Heart of Betrayal, left me with some questions, mainly about Kaden, my favorite character. I seriously cannot wait for this book. Since Books 1 and 2 were excellent and intriguing reads, I expect no less from the last book.  Full of deception, romance, betrayal and action, this is one of my favorite series and I cannot stress how excited I am for this last book. (Please, someone read this series so I can talk about it with you!!) 
Release date: August 2, 2016

Since I'm running out of time, I'll just list my last two books now, Power by Jennifer Armentrout, and The Last Star by Rick Yancy.  Power in the second book in the Titan Series, a spin off of Jennifer Armentrout's magnificent Covenant books, following my personal favorite character, Seth. I hear Alex is going to show up in this book. I do believe this is going to be a lot of fun. (I did review The Return (Book 1) I think...) 
Released: February 23, 2015
The Last Star is the last (haha) book in the 5th Wave series. You may recognize the name from the movie that's coming out, yeah, that's based on these books and I'm very excited to see it. It's coming out this month!! And I'm very very excited to read the Last Star. I can't wait to see more of Cassie and Evan... and Ben, I guess.  I'm sure this will be an explosive finale and I can hardly wait to read it. 
Released: May 24, 2016

Thanks for reading, feel free to email me for a personal book recommendation (anjimeibooks@gmail.com) :)
​-Anj

Ah yes. There's a reason why I review books as soon as possible after I read them, and that reason would be... I forget what I really wanted to say and the notes I take while reading are slightly less meaningful. Magnus Chase and the Guards of Asgard: The Sword of Summer came out on... October first I think. And here I am. Reviewing it in December. Why would that be? Because I was lazy in October and was wayyy to caught up in a number of different things in November. 
As expected from any of Rick Riordan's writing, Magnus Chase is a great book filled with witty humor, fascinating action scenes, and a twist of mystery. On top of that, while reading you're learning a bit more about mythology and not the boring kind of learning, like the learning where you don't even realize you're learning 'cause it's just that interesting. 
Even though it's filled with what you'd expect, I found myself not enjoying this book quite as much as I did any of Rick's other books. Maybe it's because I'm getting older (doubtful, Rick's books are great for all ages), maybe it's because I enjoy a clear cut romance in my books. Rick Riordan's books are middle school books so they kind of slowly introduce the romance over the course of the series (Kind of like Harry Potter), maybe it's because I wanted and expected to see a lot more of Annabeth (and maybe even Percy) in this book or maybe it's because I just didn't have the time to really sit down and enjoy the book. It could've been any of those or it could just be that this book just isn't as good for me as Rick's other books have been. I know me expecting to see a lot of Annabeth in the book was rather foolish now that I come to think of it because if Annabeth was in the story, she'd steal the whole show. Especially since where Annabeth goes, Percy follows. And Percy can show anybody up. 
"He still holds a grudge that Jesus never showed up for the duel he challenged him to." 
Even though I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as I did The Kane Chronicles, Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Heroes of Olympus, I still had a lot of fun reading the story. I found myself laughing quite a bit. My friends probably would've thought I was a little insane if they weren't used to this behavior. 
I wasn't sure what I was expecting from Magnus, but I certainly wasn't expecting him to be homeless. And that's what he was at the beginning of the book. A homeless sixteen year old. Magnus is an interesting character, unlike Percy, he isn't exactly a good physical fighter, others kind of have to do the physical fighting for him (if you've read the book, you know what I mean.) I didn't get quite as attached to Magnus as I usually do to Rick's characters, but I still liked his character a lot. 
Sam is Magnus's friend as well as a daughter or Loki. She's an interesting character, not wanting to use her powers because it makes her more like her father an all that. Sam's definitely not my favorite female protagonist that Rick has created, in fact, she might be near the bottom. I wasn't particularly interesting in her. Sure, I felt a little bad for her background, but I couldn't bring myself to care too much. 
Blitz and Hearthstone are two hilarious characters that I really enjoyed reading about. They're courageous and rather funny. I can't say too much about them otherwise I'll spoil the story! 
"Blades before Babes." 
Jack might've been my favorite character in this story. You don't talk to Jack until about halfway through the book or so but he's quite the funny character. 
"Stupid magical hotel won't even allow me to properly vandalize things."
Overall, I'd give Magnus Chase a solid 7/10 stars. It was good, but I was a little disappointed. Though, I do fully intend to continue reading the series. 

Summery: 
Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . .

This book AMAZING 8/10 stars guys. If you haven't noticed I'm very picky about my ratings. So this is a story about Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson) and Sadie Kane (the Kane Chronicles) meeting. If you didn't know, there's another short story about a collage of these two short stories called The Son of Sobek, it's Percy and Carter meeting. Click here to look at it. Also they give slight hints that Rick is intending to make a collage series like Drew being in both. Carter sees a Pegasus. And Amos says there are other GODS in Manhattan. Little things like that. So anyway if you haven't read this book, go read it then come back and read how I personally felt about it. 

Spoilers below


So this was so good. I read the first six pages online a few months ago. I can't remember where. I have been super pumped for this book for a while now. I thought it was coming out April 20... That pissed me off when I went online and found out it was MAY 20. So anyway I loved how Serapis had like a flower pot head. I like how Sadie and Annabeth have like, opposite personalities that fit together so well. When reading the Kane Chronicles I always forgot how YOUNG Sadie is. And in those books the outfits are kinda... normal? So from Annabeth's perspective it stands out way more. And then the line 'She didn't like taking credits for other people's camels' like it happens a lot. That was just so funny. Then when Sadie is like drawing the chalk circle 'perhaps writing a nice epitaph to commemorate their  imminent death' And when like Sadie is trying to speak in Greek "Meana aedei thea! En ponte pathen algae!" Saying Sing of rage, O goddess. In the sea, suffer moss!" 
Too good. 
Then Sadie has an Instagram? That was funny Though do any of you DM your friends selfies? I don't. 
SO those were my main thoughts on this short book. 

Then from Blood of Olympus, 
I love this 
'Jason was always afraid he'd do something unromantic, and Piper's mom would frown down from Mount Olympus and change him into a feral hog' I know no one likes Jason, and he''s not anyone's favorite, but I just thought that line was funny.