Top Ten New-to-Me Authors of 2016

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten New-to-Me Authors of 2016.

When I went to look at my read list for 2016, I was surprised to find that most of my reads were written by authors that I've read before. Almost every single new-to-me author I read this year made my top ten list for the simple fact that I read so few new authors.

1. Cinda Williams Chima - Flamecaster (Shattered Realms, # 1)
2. Marie Rutkoski - The Winner's Trilogy
3. Michelle Griep - The Captive Heart
4. Sarah J Maas - Throne of Glass series
5. Tim Tebow - Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life's Storms
6. Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows- My Lady Jane (with Cynthia Hand)
7. Michelle Zink - A Walk in the Sun
8. Natalie Blitt - The Distance from A to Z
9. Shannon A Thompson - November Rain (Bad Bloods, # 1)
10. Lucy Keating - Dreamology

November Snow - Review

November Snow (Bad Bloods, # 2)

By: Shannon A Thompson

Published: September 19th 2016 by Clean Teen Publishing

275 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, SciFi, Dystopian

Source: Author for review (Thank you!!)

( 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--When Daniel and Serena unite, their accidental relationship becomes the catalyst for a twelve-year war to continue. Exposing the twisted past of a corrupt city, Daniel, Serena, and everyone they know will come together to fight. But Serena has another battle.

After a political rumor threatens their lives, Serena must leave her family and join the political front against her will. To survive apart, Daniel has to separate his love from his hatred and join forces with his worst memory to secure Vendona’s war. But very few of them will survive to see the last day. Bad blood or human, a city will burn, snow will fall, and all will be united by catastrophic secrets and irrevocable tragedy.

I had a hard time deciding what to say about November Rain and I think that's going to be the same thing for November Snow as well. Let's recap though. In November Rain we find out that bad bloods are people with supernatural abilities. As far as the characters we meet no one has the same ability. And in Vendona, bad bloods are hunted and killed because people are scared of them. Serena escapes from a blood camp and runs into Daniel who helps her by providing a temporary place for her to recover. But Daniel and Serena* come from different flocks (groups of bad blood kids that have found each other and created their own families helping each other to survive). Daniel is the leader of the Northern flock and Serena is essentially second of the Southern flock. And we don't know why, but Daniel and Robert (the leader of the Southern flock) hate each other. There's history there, but we don't know what. Daniel and Serena begin to develop feelings for each other, and of course that doesn't sit well with Robert. On top of that, there's an election coming up that will determine whether bad bloods will continue to be hunted down or if society will begin to accept them.

It's hard for me to remember the exact point when November Rain ended and November Snow began because once I finished November Rain I started reading November Snow immediately. The break in the stories felt off to me because they didn't feel like complete, separate books. Usually even if a book ends in a cliffhanger, the book itself still feels like a complete work. But that wasn't really the case for these two, and I discuss that in my review of November Rain because that was more of an issue with that book since this one did essentially complete the story.

I also mentioned in my review of November Rain that while I blew through it quickly, I got stalled in reading November Snow at about the 60% mark and put it down for about a month and a half before picking it up to finally finish it. Funnily enough, I finished the last 35ish% in a single night...even staying up late to finish it. The reason I stalled was because I'd essentially read a book and a half and felt like there was still so much going on that I didn't know about. But answers finally started rolling in. Even though I still felt like there was an unpolished feel to all of the events. I can't really discuss the details of what I mean without spoilers though. I can say that I think from a writing standpoint there was a little too much "telling" and not enough "showing." What I mean is that the description was just too much at times. I mean there was an entire paragraph at one point describing where each character was sitting at a table (and there were 24ish characters to describe). It was just too much at times.

The political aspects of Bad Bloods revolved around whether or not the bad bloods would be accepted within society based upon which leader was elected president of Vendona. Considering we in America just had our own very controversial presidential election, some of this resonated. But also considering the way that our nation seems to evenly split down the middle right now and one half of which is protesting...the pretty bow that was put upon Vendona's election felt unrealistic. Of course, the protesting that we're having here is unprecedented and not the norm.

Favorite quotes:

-"Don't count your faults more than your strengths"...

-"Love doesn't always require you to know someone for long, especially during difficult times"...

Ultimately, November Snow had some flaws. There was a bit too much description for my tastes. The number of side characters, their unique skills, and backstories was overwhelming. I couldn't keep them all straight no matter how hard I tried. The events and plot didn't always seem to make complete sense to me like why Selena went to the highlands and what she was trying to accomplish. But I read the first 30% fairly quickly, the next 30% was a bit slow. I ultimately stalled and November Snow down for a month and a half. But I read the last 30% in a night. I didn't hate it, but I felt like November Snow and the Bad Bloods series could use a bit more polishing. November Snow gets 3 Stars from me. Have you read November Snow? What did you think? Let me know!

*Also, I just finished watching Gossip Girl on Netflix where two of the main characters' names are Daniel and Serena.

All Things Halloween Review - November Rain

November Rain (Bad Bloods, # 1)

By: Shannon A Thompson

Published: July 18th 2016 by Clean Teen Publishing

230 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, SciFi, Dystopian

Source: Author for review (Thank you!!) (also a freebie on Amazon)

( 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--Seventeen-year-old Serena isn’t human. She is a bad blood, and in the city of Vendona, bad bloods are executed. In the last moments before she faces imminent death, a prison guard aids her escape and sparks a revolt. Back on the streets determined to destroy her kind, Serena is spared by a fellow bad blood named Daniel. His past tragedies are as equally mysterious as her connection to them.

Unbeknownst to the two, this connection is the key to winning the election for bad bloods’ rights to be seen as human again. But Serena is the only one who can secure Vendona’s vote. Now, Daniel must unite with her before all hope is lost and bad bloods are eradicated, even if it means exposing secrets worse than death itself. United or not, a city will fight, rain will fall, and all will be threatened by star-crossed love and political corruption.

I finished November Rain three weeks before typing this review. I usually never wait this long to write a review. I have a self-imposed 48-hour limit under normal circumstances. But I've had the hardest time deciding what to say about November Rain. November Rain and November Snow are essentially "one book broken into two parts due to length" (per Shannon A Thompson). As such, November Rain really did feel incomplete. It started out great. I was pretty hooked into the characters and the story, but the story really doesn't feel like it stands on it's own as an individual book. The conflict for the two books is set up in November Rain, but I didn't feel like November Rain had enough individual conflict to justify the split in the books.

Part of my difficulty deciding what to say is because after I finished it I jumped right into November Snow. Where I read November Rain quickly, I was getting stalled on November Snow. And since the two books are essentially one story that seemed to hinder my ability to process and analyze. However, since these books are being released separately I'm going to do my best to review them separately without being influenced by the other piece of the puzzle.

Serena and Daniel both felt like strong characters with fleshed out backgrounds. Their intentions and motivations felt genuine. They had a spark from their first encounter, but trust and romance were a bit slower to build even though looking back I can't remember how much time actually passes in the first book. Both were likeable, and I think that was in large part due to their deep love for those they consider their family. Serena and Daniel are both willing to put themselves on the line for the kids in their flocks.

That leads me to two different points. The side characters are a bit overwhelming at first. There are twelve members to each flock. And that's not all of the side characters. Twenty-four+ characters...that's a lot of characters to try to keep straight. It was a bit overwhelming.

My second point is the world building. It was clear to me that Shannon A Thompson spent a lot time creating this world, the politics behind it, the characters. But up I'm not sure that enough of the world was conveyed to the reader. Her writing is done so in a way that is an attempt to maintain a bit of suspense and intrigue, but November Rain ends before you got any real answers. I did enjoy the diversity in the Bad Bloods' powers. That part reminded me of X-men if you like that sort of supernatural aspect.

I feel like my review has come off more negative than I really feel. I read November Rain really quickly. I wanted to keep reading. I wanted to come back to it. I wanted to know more about the characters and the world of the Bad Bloods. I enjoyed the characters and wanted to know what was going to happen next when the book came to an end. But I did have a few issues and my biggest problem revolved around the split in the books. November Rain gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read November Rain? What did you think? Let me know!

This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.