Top Ten 2016 Releases I Didn't Read

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten 2016 Releases I Didn't Read.

1. Built (Saints of Denver, # 1) by Jay Crownover
2. Never Never Pt 3 (Never Never, # 1) by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher - I have in my possession and it's even short, but I've heard that it was kind of a let down so I've been putting it off.
3. Riders (Riders, # 1) by Veronica Rossi
4. Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, # 1) by Cassandra Clare - Also in my possession. I think it's the length of this one that's had me waiting to start it.
5. The Great Hunt (Eurona Duology, # 1) by Wendy Higgins - I actually got this one as a review book LAST YEAR! I started it, but it wasn't hooking my attention. Holly enjoyed it so I know I want to come back to it.
6. The Raven King (The Raven Cycle, # 4) by Maggie Stiefvater - I really have no excuse on this one. I own it, but I've just been trying to catch up on review books.
7. The Season of You and Me by Robin Constantine - I got approved for this one for review, but there was issues downloading it. I was so bummed.
8. The Last Star (The 5th Wave, # 3) by Rick Yancey - Also in my possession, but again I'm putting it off because I've heard it wasn't the best ending to the series that I've enjoyed so much.
9. PS I Like You by Kasie West - No excuses. I hope my library gets this one soon.
10. The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, # 3) by Mary E Pearson - Also one I own. I just got it for Christmas so hopefully I'll pick it up soon.
11. Harry Potter & the Cursed Child (Harry Potter, # 8) by JK Rowling & Jack Thorne - Sheesh, I think I own almost all of these books on my list. I own this one too, but only in hardcopy and those aren't as easy to read these days running around chasing my one year old.
12. Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns, # 1) by Kendare Blake - I've got this one for review, but I saw the ratings start coming in for it and since it wasn't getting high marks I keep putting it off.
13. Heartless by Marissa Meyer - Yep...no specific reason for not picking this one up yet either.

Are there any of these that I need to move up to the top of my TBR list immediately? Which books did you not get around to in 2016? Let me know!

Waiting on Heartless

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Heartless

By: Marissa Meyer

Expected Publication: November 8th 2016 by Feiwel and Friends

416 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retellings

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Long before she was the terror of Wonderland — the infamous Queen of Hearts — she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king's marriage proposal, she meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship.

Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

I still need to read Winter, but I've loved Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series. So reading her next book is a given. What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Heartless - Review

Heartless (Tales of Goldstone Wood, # 1)

By: Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Published: July 1st 2010 by Bethany House Publishers

363 pages

Genre: Fantasy

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, The Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The Dragon King Seeks His Princess—

Who Dares to Stop Him?

Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon marry. She dreams of a charming prince, but when her first suitor arrives, he's not what she'd hoped. Prince Aethelbald of mysterious Farthestshore has travelled a great distance to prove his love--and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be on the hunt and blazing a path of terror.

Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer--and ignores his cautions with dire consequences. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in his sights. Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.

A Tale of Goldstone Wood

Timeless Fantasy That Will Keep You Spellbound

I didn't know what to expect going into Heartless, but I was surprised to find that I was actually hooked fairly early on in the book. My inner princess loves stories of kings and castles and princesses and coming of age and suitors. I just love reading about this stuff. And what's better than all of this PLUS DRAGONS?!?!?!?! (I totally don't read enough stories about dragons these days. Need to rectify this.)

However, I hit a snag about 35% into the book. Things started to slow down for me, and Una, our main female character, left me wanting. She likes the wrong things/people. She does the wrong things. But I'm finding that so often we need to really see how far a character needs to come in order to appreciate the journey and where the character ends up at the end of the story. This was totally the case with Una.

Symbolism abounds in the latter half to quarter of this book, and I really enjoyed and appreciated it. I don't often highlight in my Kindle while reading, but I found myself highlighting away. (This is changing, I'm becoming a highlighter!) The symbolism was pretty evident to me which was nice because when I studied literature in high school I was terrible at picking it out, so it's nice to see that I've improved in this area. And symbolism isn't always a key proponent of the type of books that I read these days, so it was nice to have this included.

Because of the symbolism, I learned to appreciate Una's character and the growth and change that she went through in the process of this book. Of course there were other characters that need to be touched upon. Prince Aethelbald--what a horrible name--was, of course, my favorite character in the entire book. There's Felix who I imagine we'll be seeing more from in the other books in the series because he has challenges ahead of him that were set up in this book that remain unresolved. We can't forget Monster the cat who's more than just a cat. I found Monster to be an appropriate character for Anne Elisabeth Stengl. After doing an author interview with her (here) for the release Starflower (book 4 in this series), I found out that she has several cats and fosters them too. It's no wonder that there would be more to Monster than meets the eye. And of course, we have Una's other suitors, the Dragon, and various other dragons who contribute to the cast of characters, among others.

In the end, Heartless was an enjoyable read filled with much more than meets the eye. While I didn't love the main character, Una, I understand her completely and feel as if she was perfect for the story Anne Elisabeth Stengl was trying to tell. I'd definitely give Heartless 3 Stars and look forward to coming back for the other books in this series. Have you read Heartless? If so, what did you think?