EuropaFb: weekend reading

Weekend Reading is a weekly opportunity to share books we've recently read and loved, and books we're about to read. Please feel free to share your recommendations in the comments!

This week, I read the amazing debut WHAT'S LEFT OF ME by Kat Zhang. Such a unique concept, and so well done! I found both the writing and the characters to be compelling, and the mystery was enough to keep me turning the pages. I especially enjoyed the fact that the main character doesn't respond to terrifying situations with skill and calm poise at first. She freezes in place, hopes her parents can figure out a way to protect her, or has a hard time wrapping her mind around the true scope of the threat until it's already too late. In other words, she behaves like a normal person. I really liked that because it rang so true. And I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel! I'm betting once you finish reading this, you're going to be anxious for the sequel, too! Here's a look at WHAT'S LEFT OF ME.

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Next up on my reading list is THE DARK UNWINDING by Sharon Cameron. What have you read lately that you'd love to recommend to others? What are you reading next?

Don't forget to enter to win a signed copy of THE UNNATURALISTS and THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.

Weekend Reading is a weekly opportunity to share books we've recently read and loved, and books we're about to read. Please feel free to share your recommendations in the comments!

This past week, I read the HOLY COW AMAZING The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson. (Hits the shelves this coming Tuesday, Sept 18th!!) This sequel to The Girl of Fire and Thorns was just ... I am almost without words. It was fully realized, nuanced, and constantly compelling. The romance is aching and lovely and sad and beautiful, and actually those words describe Elisa for much of the book as well. She's just starting to come into her own strength as a girl and as a queen, and she must slice her way through betrayal, political intrigue, self-doubt, and war to do so. I don't think I can properly gush enough about this book. You. Must. Read. This.

Well, first read Girl of Fire and Thorns so you aren't lost, and then READ THIS.

She does not know what awaits her at the enemy's gate.

Elisa is a hero. She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as the country's ruler should be secure. But it isn't.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from both foreign realms and within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one has not yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears once and for all, Elisa must follow the trail of long-forgotten--and forbidden--clues from the deep, undiscovered catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her goes a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man who--despite everything--she is falling in love with.

If she's lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost.

Next up on my reading list is Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff. What have you read lately that you'd love to recommend to others? What are you reading next?