Hello Summer, Hello Blogosphere!

Well, well, what do we have here? A blog I haven’t touched since February? Oh man, that’s so sad. Apologies, guys. If I ever said things were crazy before, understand that this semester reached a whole new level. To put it plainly, I loaded up on 21 credits, three jobs and an internship and life just went bonkers the whole way. I was lucky I was getting my school work done, let alone anything else.

But lo and behold, I made it to summer. And lo and behold, I’m revamping the blog. Like the new look? Bibliomancy for Beginners is going to start up again in a week or so, and I’m actually going to be able to read. Back in January, I said that I wanted to play catch up with my have-but-need-to-read list, and I still want to do that. So that’s what I’m going to do.

Bibliomancy for Beginners will be happening every week. That’s for sure. I’m going to try to get back into Top Ten Tuesday and Waiting on Wednesday, at the very least. ARC reviews will be few and fair between, because I have too many that I never read as I promised and that’s just not fair.

It WILL be a truncated summer, because I’m leaving for my semester abroad in early August. But that’s a while away. For now, I’m just going to start reading.

Thanks for sticking around, guys. My plan is to many it worth your while!

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Waiting on Wednesday: The Fire Wish by Amber Lough

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: The Fire Wish

Author: Amber Lough

ETA: July 22, 2014

Summary from Goodreads: A jinni. A princess. And the wish that changes everything. . . . 

Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad—which she’ll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form—as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered—enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love.

Why I’m Waiting: Remember how just last week I was talking about wanting more fantasy not based in Europe?  Well, I am ALL for Middle Eastern folklore and history as a basis for fantasy.  (Like, just the other day I was sitting in my Middle Eastern History class thinking, “This is awesome, I need to base some worldbuilding on THIS.”)  Also, Tammy Pierce blurbed it, which is always sure to get my attention.

Waiting on Wednesday: “Infinite” by Jodi Meadows

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Infinite (Newsoul #3)

Author: Jodi Meadows

ETA: January 28, 2014

About from Goodreads: DESTRUCTION
The Year of Souls begins with an earthquake—an alarming rumble from deep within the earth—and it’s only the first of greater dangers to come. The Range caldera is preparing to erupt. Ana knows that as Soul Night approaches, everything near Heart will be at risk.

FLIGHT
Ana’s exile is frightening, but it may also be fortuitous, especially if she can convince her friends to flee Heart and Range with her. They’ll go north, seeking answers and allies to stop Janan’s ascension. And with any luck, the newsouls will be safe from harm’s reach.

CHOICE
The oldsouls might have forgotten the choice they made to give themselves limitless lifetimes, but Ana knows the true cost of reincarnation. What she doesn’t know is whether she’ll have the chance to finish this one sweet life with Sam, especially if she returns to Heart to stop Janan once and for all.

With gorgeous romance and thrilling action, the final book in the Incarnate trilogy offers a brilliant conclusion to the compelling questions of this fascinating world, where one new girl is the key to the lives of millions.

Why?: If you missed my reviews of the first two books, Incarnate and Asunder, then you MISSED OUT. Jodi is writing one of the most gorgeous, real romances I’ve seen in a while and I cannot wait to see how the story ends!

Waiting on Wednesday: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Full disclaimer, everybody: college got so crazy last year that I wasn’t really able to keep up on new releases.  Which means that for a while, my WoW posts will probably be…not books that I really want to come out, but books that DID come out and I missed them and I want to read them really badly as soon as I have time.

TL;DR: I’m a rebel and I’m posting about already-released books.

Title: Antigoddess

Author: Kendare Blake

ETA: Now!

Summary from Goodreads:  Old Gods never die…

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. 

These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. 

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out. 

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

Why I’m Waiting: TERMINALLY ILL GREEK GODS.  Need I say more?

Waiting on Wednesday: “Relax, I’m a Ninja” by Natalie Whipple

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Relax, I’m a Ninja

Author: Natalie Whipple

ETA: June 3, 2014

Blurb from Goodreads: A Clan of ninjas in San Francisco may sound improbable—but as the son of a ninja master, Tosh Ito knows what lurks in the shadows of his city. Or at least he thought he did.

When a killer with a poisoned blade starts cutting down teens, Tosh enlists Amy Sato—newest ninja recruit and his best friend’s crush—and sets out to uncover the killer’s identity. What they find is ninjutsu more evil than they could have ever imagined.

As Amy and Tosh grow closer, they discover their connection unleashes a legendary power that could stop the murders. Problem is, that power may be exactly what the killer is looking for, and wielding it could cost them both their souls.

Why: GUYS. This is Natalie Whipple, author of Transparent (which I loved very much). And now she’s writing a book WITH THIS TITLE. She is living one of my DREAMS. I’m sold.

So a month and a half later…

Here’s me, Gretchen, coming back up for air. Sorry guys, it’s been a while!

I’ll be honest, this break was actually half my choice. All of the sudden life went crazy and I didn’t know what to do about it. This whole year, really, has been a loop-de-loop of epic proportions, and it’s taken me forever to get it back under control. To be honest, it’s not back under control, but at least right now I’m not at college. That’s a little bit of a break, at least.

One thing that I know for sure, though, is that I miss blogging like nobody’s business. This has been a part of my life for so long, I don’t know how to go on without it–and all of you.

Another thing that’s crossed my mind is how absurdly long my have-but-need-to-read list is on Goodreads. If you don’t know what I mean, that’s a list I have that keeps track of how many books I own that I haven’t yet read. Some are ARCs, some are books I’ve bought. I haven’t even updated the list in a while, and it’s still 100 books long. That’s really scary.

I wasn’t able to keep up with blogging because I overtaxed myself with ARCs and other timed stipulations. Well, no more. Good God, that list is a whole YEAR of reading, if this year’s Goodreads Challenge is anything to go by. A bunch of those are ARCs I requested and received and then never held up my end of the bargain. I hate that. So I’m going to fix it.

I’m going to try to keep up with Top Ten Tuesday and Waiting on Wednesday. I love those memes, and I don’t want to stop doing them. I want to keep vlogging, so Stacking the Shelves may continue to exist in some capacity, even though I plan on need requesting any more ARCs for the time being. Some Bibliomancers and I may be soon bringing you a Series of (Un)fortunate videos. I’m going to talk to Marina and see if she still loves me. To this, I’m going to add in a “Random Reads” post each week.

Random Reads will work like so: Every week, I’m going to plug some numbers into Random.org. These will represent the positions of the 100 or so books on that Goodreads list. Random.org will give me a number. That will be the book that I read that week. Sound good?

I hope so, because this is going to be the only way I defeat this list!

So what’s my first Random Read going to be?

INHUMAN by Kat Falls!

Check back next week for a week full of posts from yours truly! I hope. My fingers are crossed!

Waiting on Wednesday: “Sinner” by Maggie Stiefvater

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Sinner

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

ETA: July 1st, 2014

Summary from Goodreads:  Sinner follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver Trilogy. Everybody thinks they know Cole’s story. Stardom. Addiction. Downfall. Disappearance. But only a few people know Cole’s darkest secret — his ability to shift into a wolf. One of these people is Isabel. At one point, they may have even loved each other. But that feels like a lifetime ago. Now Cole is back. Back in the spotlight. Back in the danger zone. Back in Isabel’s life. Can this sinner be saved?

Why I’m Waiting: Okay, I’m cheating a little, because anybody who pays attention to my reviewing habits knows that OF COURSE I am psyched about this.  But I’m allowed to cheat because I’ve been on medical hiatus.  Also, look at that summary.  How is it that summaries for Maggie’s books always sound uninteresting and then the actual books are always nothing like the summaries?

The truth is, Cole St Clair is one of the most intense, attention-grabbing characters I’ve ever encountered on paper (caveat: I wouldn’t want to be friends with him), and the chance to revisit his crazy, screwed-up brain is a pleasure I never thought I’d have.  I don’t need a summary to know this will be good; I know it will be more than good, because Maggie’s writing has improved since the Shiver trilogy and Cole was fantastic to start with.   And look, it comes out within weeks of my birthday!  Could the universe love me any more?

Waiting on Wednesday: “Starling” by Fiona Paul

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Starling (Secrets of the Eternal Rose #3)

Author: Fiona Paul

ETA: March 20, 2014

Summary from Goodreads: In the final book in the trilogy, Cass and Luca are back in Venice trying to find the Book of the Eternal Rose to clear Luca’s name and keep them both out of prison. But the hunters become the hunted when the Order of the Eternal Rose figures out their plan. Filled with twists and turns, danger and torrid romances, this novel brings the Secrets of the Eternal Rose novels to a thrilling, heart-pouding, sexy conclusion.

Why: Did you miss my reviews of Venom and Belladonna? Read them for more as to why I can’t wait to see how this series ends!

Waiting on Wednesday: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Cruel Beauty

Author: Rosamund Hodge

ETA: January 28th, 2014

Summary from Goodreads:  Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl’s journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex’s secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

Why I’m Waiting: Because it SOUNDS like there will be heavy folkloric references as well as magic and a badass girl-protag.  This is my curious face.  Fingers crossed for action, moral gray areas, and awesomeness rather than another cookie-cutter YA romance!

Plus, LOOK AT THAT COVER.

Waiting on Wednesday: “Allegiant” by Veronica Roth

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Allegiant (Divergent #3)

Author: Veronica Roth

ETA: October 22nd, 2013

Blurb from Goodreads: One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Why: I know this is going to be a popular one in coming WoWs, but I DID just preorder my copy from Amazon, so … now I officially can’t wait!