#roseblood ag howard

[hyperfixationsstation]

Hey any good romance book recs?

Overall (any genre) do you have a list of your fav books?

romance:

anything emily henry is really good

helen hoang books are really good

pride and prejudice and other flavors sonali dev

written in the stars alexandra bellefleur

something to talk about meryl wisner

any genre:

the bone season samantha shannon (current read) (fantasy)

the whisper man alex north (mystery)

ninth house leigh bardugo (fantasy)

the memory book lara avery ( fiction)

heartless marissa meyer ( ya fantasy)

for the wolf hannah witten ( fantasy)

throne of glass series ( fantasy)

roseblood AG howard ( phantom of the opera retelling)

how to make friends with the dark kathleen glasgow (ya fiction)

[emmafreakecreations]

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. When I initially read acomaf and acowar I just didn't like Freysand. Their interactions were not fun and witty to me they were childish and stupid, especially after reading the stalking jack the ripper series which has really clever and witty dialogue. (edit: the dialogue in stalking jack the ripper series is also not always sexual in nature like the banter between Feyre and Rhys) But now that it has been months since I initially read it, I have put my finger on it. This isn't going to be about the blatant abuse and manipulation that Rhy's has done, its more about dynamics (not sure if that's the right word). Although his SA of Feyre in acotar is one of the reasons I didn't like them when I initially read.

Th first is their age gap, which was very noticeable to me a person who despite it's many, many flaws enjoys The Vampire Diaries. It honestly just feels gross and creepy especially once we get into the whole soul mate thing and how Rhys could feel her presence when she was born and that they were mentally communicating WHEN SHE WAS A TEENAGER.

Now I'm not one for soulmate plots but this one really creeped me out. But I have read a book with a soul mate plot and I thought it was well written and still gave agency to the ppl involved. The book is Roseblood by A.G. Howard and is a retelling-ish of Phantom of the Opera. The MC Thorn and Rune are about the same age-Thorn might be a year older than Rune. How the soulmate thing works is that their souls are literally two halves of the same soul that was split before their birth. Sometimes souls can be born at very different times and it's not even guaranteed that in their life time ppl will meet their soulmates. And sometimes when they do meet it doesn't always go well and they don't become a couple either bc they didn't meet at the right time. There is a binding ritual (the ritual has nothing to do with s3x) that when preformed once the soulmates die their souls will come together after death. There is a mental connection between them and Thorn unknowingly uses it when they are both children to save Rune from death. They don't figure this out until later when they meet. After meeting they have dreams about the other that tells them each other's past. After only knowing each other for about 2 months they have bonding scene that leads to making out but they stop there bc they are like, we are moving too fast, we have only known each other for 2 months ect. ect. And these are teenagers who have shown way more maturity than Rhys and Feyre in this scene. Rhys and Feyre have only been hanging out for a few months and decide quickly to mate, and one of them is hundreds of years old.

Now there is plenty of books that have hundred year age gaps with teenagers but there is a series where to me it works with the couples bc EVERYONE is an adult- not barely legal- but adults. That is The Blood Wine Sequence. The MC Charlotte and Karl have a big age gap- Karl is 120 years older or so than Charlotte, but Charlotte is in her late 20s. Karl and Charlotte also have never met each other previously at ALL, they just meet for the first time in the first book.

idk Feysand has always made me uncomfortable and these are the initial reasons why I found it uncomfortable especially since I have read other books with similar dynamics but it wasn't creepy bc either they are around the same age or if they did have a big age gap they meet when the youngest person is well into adulthood. (We are ignoring The Vampire Diaries bc that's a mess in itself)

[thelibraryofhell]

Pretentious and Cringy: RoseBlood

For our very first condemnation to this library, we are given RoseBlood by A.G. Howard. Follow the read more for a full count of its sins and stupidity. Warning: it gets long.

This doesn’t count as a sin but great Satan the damn description is way too long! This was likely not the author’s choice though which is why it gets a pass.

This YA novel from New York Times bestselling author A. G. Howard marks the beginning of a new era for fans of the Splintered series. Rune Germain moves to a boarding school outside of Paris, only to discover that at this opera-house-turned-music-conservatory, phantoms really do exist. RoseBlood is a Phantom of the Opera–inspired retelling in which Rune’s biggest talent—her voice—is also her biggest curse. Fans of Daughter of Smoke and Bone and the Splintered series will find themselves captivated by this pulse-pounding spin on a classic tale. Rune, whose voice has been compared to that of an angel, has a mysterious affliction linked to her talent that leaves her sick and drained at the end of every performance. Convinced creative direction will cure her, her mother ships her off to a French boarding school for the arts, rumored to have a haunted past. Shortly after arriving at RoseBlood conservatory, Rune starts to believe something otherworldly is indeed afoot. The mystery boy she’s seen frequenting the graveyard beside the opera house doesn’t have any classes at the school, and vanishes almost as quickly as he appears. When Rune begins to develop a secret friendship with the elusive Thorn, who dresses in clothing straight out of the 19th century, she realizes that in his presence she feels cured. Thorn may be falling for Rune, but the phantom haunting RoseBlood wants her for a very specific and dangerous purpose. As their love continues to grow, Thorn is faced with an impossible choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or save her and face the wrath of the phantom, the only father he’s ever known.

That first paragraph would have sufficed for description and given the reader some mystery. The second could have stayed but it’s on thin ice. And we don’t have ice in hell. 

To summarize the story: Rune Germain is a 16-17 year old girl from Pleasant, Texas who is, in her own words “possessed by music”. Thanks to a rich aunt and some nepotism, she gets the chance to go to RoseBlood, a conservatory in Paris that is a refurbished opera house that, according to Rune’s online research, is the place where Gaston Leroux’s Phantom Of The Opera story really took place. Upon arrival, Rune is immediately overtaken by music and makes an enemy in Katrina Nilsson by interrupting Kat’s audition for Renata in the school’s opera. She also makes friends with a few other students who really have no bearing on either the plot or Rune’s adventures. She eventually finds her Love Interest Thorn - real name Etalon, stalking her as she goes about her day to day life, and immediately falls in love with him because they are Twin Flame and Destined by Destiny. It is soon enough revealed that Rune, Thornalon, and Erik are all psychic vampires that must feed off humans to survive. It is also soon revealed that Rune and Thornalon are Christina Nilsson’s soul reincarnated and split and that Rune “has Christine’s voice”. It also turns out that Christina and Erik got married and tried to have a child who was born premature and died. Erik was driven mad(der) by the child’s death and somehow, in the 1900′s, managed to build a contraption that kept the baby “alive” until he could track down Christine’s soul and reunite the pieces and transfer it to the baby... Needless to say, he failed, Rune and Thornalon live happily ever after, and Rune suffers no consequences from any of her terrible actions through the whole novel.

Sin count time!

Sin 1: The school name! RoseBlood.  What does it have to do with anything? There are bleeding roses later in the story but why would a school name itself RoseBlood? This choice is never explained. It has no French basis, no connection to the opera-house turned school, and no connection to Gaston Leroux’s original Phantom Of The Opera.

Sin 2: Overwrought descriptions right out of the gate.

At home, I have a poster on my wall of a rose that’s bleeding. Its petals are white, and red liquid oozes from its heart, thick and glistening warm. 

Mom looks out her window where the wet trees have thickened to multicolored knots, like an afghan gilded with glitter.

I trace the window now curtained by mud, imagining the glass cracking and bursting; imagining myself sprouting wings to fly away through the opening—back to America and my two friends who were tolerant of my strange quirks.

These are all from chapter one. It only gets worse as you go.

Sin 3: Racism. Main character Rune Germain regularly describes herself as a “gypsy”. According to her, on her father’s side, she’s a g*psy. Moving through this review, I will be censoring the word. I’m a demon of hell, not a piece of shit. Rune never says Roma or Romani in the entire book. There’s no references to Romani culture, nothing about the problems Romani people face in the modern day, nothing. Rune is also as white as a piece of paper. You can see it on the cover

And in how she describes herself.

People say we could pass for sisters. We share her ivory complexion, the tiny freckles spattered across the bridge of her nose, the wide green eyes inside a framework of thick lashes, and her hair—black as a raven’s wings.

If you look up pictures of Romani people, you see that they’re far from ivory skinned. 

It’s not only Rune. Her Aunt Charlotte does it too. The “Phantom” does it. And Roma culture is treated very poorly throughout the novel. Rune several times refers to her “g*psy blood” as “cursed” or “terrible”. One example:

Nausea sweeps through me at the thought. After our encounter, I realized why I was enchanted by the spider’s feeding rituals, that there was something in my g*psy blood—something tainted and wrong.

In this modern day and age, can’t humans stop demonizing and stereotyping an entire culture? Or using “half-g*psy” lineage to make characters “exotic” or “mystic”? No? Fine, I’ll see you down here eventually. 

Sin 4: The Love Interest’s backstory..... TRIGGER WARNING FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION OF RAPE, CHILD TRAFFICKING, AND REFERENCED CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT.

Rune’s Love Interest is named Etalon. His mother was sexually assaulted by a psychic vampire who is apparently from Canada - I have no idea why Howard felt the need to include that - and it ruined her life to the point where she was forced to turn to prostitution to feed herself and Etalon. A man kept trying to “buy” Etalon from her because he was beautiful. She kept refusing, and eventually, she was murdered. Etalon was quickly snatched up into child trafficking where, at one point, he was forced to drink lye water to damage his vocal cords because he wouldn’t stop singing. He eventually escaped when Erik found him and took him in, renaming him Thorn. 

Love Interests with tragic backstories are a staple of the YA genre. It makes them mysterious and interesting. It often drives the main character’s interest in the aloof and unusual bad boy. Quite often, these backstories involve dead or missing parents, being turned into a vampire or werewolf, or some combination of all of these things. It’s very rare that it gets so real. Child trafficking is a very real and prevalent issue in the world and it needs attention brought to it. But not like this. Using it as a character’s backstory is something that takes a level of skill Howard simply does not have. It needs to be written with respect to victims who might read it and not just be used to give characters a compelling but otherwise unused backstory. Thornalon never displays any indicators that the time spent in this situation traumatized him. There’s no signs of PTSD or other mental health issues that might arise from what he went through. There’s also no signs that Howard donated any money from book sales to charities like Child Fund, Save The Children, or ECPAT-USA. This is a very serious topic that NEEDS more attention brought to it and Howard glossed over it like it was nothing. 

Sin 5: Underutilized setting.  Rune comes from Pleasant, Texas and moves to Paris, France. But there’s no sense of wonder from her. She never talks about how beautiful the city is or learning French. Supposedly, the school only admits American students.

“How many foreign boarding schools offer admittance only to American kids? This is a rare opportunity . . . a taste of French culture in a setting that feels like home.”

Oooor the author couldn’t be bothered to deal with French translations or expanding the student body to include a diversity? There’s no French culture anywhere in this book. Any time Rune goes into Paris, it’s skipped over. There’s nothing about it that says Paris. It could have been set in New Jersey and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. 

Sin 6: Each chapter begins with a quote from a different author and work. Including, weirdly enough, Karl Marx... Beginning a chapter with a quote is fine, but it should be consistent. Picking a single work or author to use helps to reader see a consistency in the theme of the book. Since this is a Phantom of The Opera based story, it would make sense to use quotes from the book. Instead, the author uses a different work for each chapter, and it’s honestly just annoying. 

Sin 7: All promise, no pay off. This book has a promise of action and mystery. It’s got a fabulous premise and a setting that could be beautifully used if in the hands of the right author. But it misses the mark on good characters, action, and keeping a consistent pace. 

Punishments: For being tone-deaf and generally bad at writing, author A.G. Howard is condemned to have the dead tree in her backyard become home to her state’s buzzard population. For being a terrible protagonist, Rune Germain is condemned to find a mistake in the middle of her knitting projects just as she is about to finish them. For the terrible Phantom Iteration known as Erik, we condemn his instruments to always be just slightly out tune. And Thorn/Etalon... we order you to get a lot of therapy and a service dog. 

So let it be recorded. Today’s story time is concluded. 

[imazial]

why do i agree to this?

[atimeofmagic]

RoseBlood Chapter Two

We start Chapter 2 with some background. It turns out, Rune has been singing perfectly since age 4! She’s a wunderkind! But when she sings without musical accompaniment, she falls gravely ill :/ Guess what!!! By the time she’s 6, she can sing EVERY SINGLE NOTE!!! We are truly blessed to be in Rune’s presence.

We’re just getting so much infodump here. Her dad died, her grandma blames Rune’s “unnatural gift”, Rune feels like her grandma’s right…but there’s no emotional response. She’s just telling us all these things that happened, and we don’t feel any of them. Somehow her gift put her friend, Ben, in a coma. Ooooh. Angst.

Oh, no, Rune’s so unhappy because at RoseBlood she’ll be forced to stand out. Everyone will be forced to see her perfection. I can’t stand it. Apparently RoseBlood takes American kids only. So the book totally won’t feel like a generic American paranormal romance at all!!! They’re in France, read the book flap!!!!

God…so…many…ellipses…in…this…effing…chapter…

Now Rune’s whining about being isolated from everyone she knows without a cellphone. Then her mom gives her super-fancy stationary, and Rune’s like, “yayayay!! now i can keep in touch!” Bc the only way to keep in touch is apparently stationary you have to mortgage your house to afford. God, I can barely read this scene. Something about the way it happens is very amateurish. No sooner does Rune think of something than her mom is giving it to her as a present. She remembers her favorite childhood book, guess what’s in the box!! And they’re still in the car, remember. This is all happening in a small space.

Okay, this is small, but Rune says her “least favorite element” is water, “second only to fire.” Like, girl. That’s half the “elements” right there.

They get to RoseBlood, and it’s a gorgeous opera-house/castle. Normally, I’d love this shit. I hope the book doesn’t mess it up. Wait, nm. This is a castle with the name “RoseBlood”. Gag me with a spoon. Pro tip: don’t name your opera-castle-house-places like you’re an wannabe punk band from the early 2000’s. Thanks.

You guys have to help me with this one. I’m a little confused. Rune sees a chapel behind the castle and calls it “tall and proud” but also says it’s “cower[ing] in fear from the encroaching forest’s shadow”. Rune, sweetie, this is a bit much to take in. These are two very conflicitng descriptions, Rune, baby. Okay?

Love interest alert! Love interest alert! Rune sees a guy pruning the roses. He has “broad shoulders”, “plump lips”, “coppery-colored eyes”. Also he’s wearing vintage clothing so who wants to bet he’s Not From This Time. Jesus, Rune says she’s seen those eyes “countless times” since childhood, but “can’t even consider” why she recognizes him. Cheap, Rune. Cheap. If the narrative is going to bring up that Rune recognizes the eyes, it can’t follow that up with, “I’m too lazy to tell you right now, though.” This is cheaply fabricated “mystery”, and it doesn’t work at all. Also, apparently she can tell his eyes are “broadcasting” a warning. Because she can tell all that just from a glimpse of eyes? Wait, I forgot, reading expressions and coming to logical conclusions are for actual people, not our Special Rune.

I’m so confused. She says she’s uncomfortable in her bohemian style for the first time ever, but it’s a “tribute to her father’s heritage”. I’m so confused. Is this book going off sterotypes of Rromani people? I legit don’t know what’s going on.

Guys, the roses the guy was pruning? They are WITHERED and DEAD. Obviously, this sends “foreboding prickles” down Rune’s back bc what kind of book do you think this is? You think it’s gonna string together some non-cliche language? Gtfo.

Byeeee!

[aghowardwrites]

[calamitys-child]

Me and the flatmate are getting drunk and doing a dramatic reading of Roseblood by AG Howard. First impressions? Genuinely worse than any possible expectations. Atrocious. Can't recommend it enough

[daniellesreadingnook]

[problematicauthors101]

Author: AG HOWARD

A.G. Howard is the author of RoseBlood, published by Harry N. Abrams (Jan 10th, 2017)

She thought it was “historically correct” to use the g* slur in her book when she is not Romani (x)

Doubled down when she was called out

[rainbow-recipe]

Currently Reading: -Roseblood by A.G. Howard- -I am LOVING this red ink!!-

[reading-out-loud]

“I need to know why I’m so broken, so I can fix myself. One way or another. Maybe this place can help me do that, and then I can finally look forward to my future. Because I’m starting to realize there’s something worse than stepping up and facing your fears – and that’s living as if you’re already dead.”

Currently reading RoseBlood by AG Howard 🌹

[b-ibli0phile-blog]

January’s Owlcrate book: RoseBlood by A.G. Howard! Guys this book is so beautiful inside and out! The text of the novel is red, which might be harsh to read for some (myself included), but I’m optimistic that this twist on the Phantom of the Opera is going to be such a gorgeous story!

[atimeofmagic]

A time of snark: RoseBlood Chapter 1

*Taps mic* “Can you hear me? Yes?” *Readjusts mic* “How about now? No? Good.”

You know what this is. It’s a book snark. Do I know what it is? I mean, kind of. I’m doing my best, you guys (AKA my very small amount of followers that may in fact unfollow me after this). This feels like the first day of school. And, honestly, this is more for me than anything. I feel like snarking books is just what my mental health needs.

So there’s this book. It’s called RoseBlood, and it’s by AG Howard. I got it in an OwlCrate box, which was one of my reasons for unsubscribing. (I enjoyed OwlCrate, but it cost too much money to gamble whether or not I’d be getting a good book that much.) Synopsis and snark below the cut:

In this modern day spin on Leroux’s gothic tale of unrequited love turned to madness, seventeen-year-old Rune Germain has a mysterious affliction linked to her operatic talent, and a horrifying mistake she’s trying to hide. Hoping creative direction will help her, Rune’s mother sends her to a French arts conservatory for her senior year, located in an opera house rumored to have ties to The Phantom of the Opera. At RoseBlood, Rune secretly befriends the masked Thorn—an elusive violinist who not only guides her musical transformation through dreams that seem more real than reality itself, but somehow knows who she is behind her own masks. As the two discover an otherworldly connection and a soul-deep romance blossoms, Thorn’s dark agenda comes to light and he’s forced to make a deadly choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or face the wrath of the phantom who has haunted the opera house for a century, and is the only father he’s ever known.

I know. Sounds thrilling. It comes with a love triangle and everything! But let’s not spend too long on the synopsis. This book is Edgy. It is Dark. In the very first paragraph, our MC Rune (??? like what kind of a name…) reveals that she has a poster on her wall of a bleeding rose. Except, GASP. The rose isn’t bleeding. A little girl’s wrist has been pricked by the thorns as she reaches for a monarch butterfly inside the flower. And then there’s this really confusing jump where Rune is like “she was smart. u need wings to fly away” but bitch?? those are butterfly wings?? like I get it’s a metaphor but. it just. makes no. sense.

The book really starts with Rune on in a car in France. She’s on her way to her new school, which is like a boarding school/conservatory type deal. But she’s really upset bc she thinks the building’s haunted by THE Phantom of the Opera. 

Also, she casually throws out that she’s been possessed most of her life. Also, the g**** slur appears in reference to her father’s heritage, which I guarantee will not come up ever again.

We get some more introspection. Apparently something *terrible* has happened at her home in Texas, but of course she won’t tell us now. Gotta get all the tension possible into this story.  

We learn more about Rune’s family. Her grandma was abusive, her aunt was a ballerina and married an aristocrat and donated to the school/conservatory. Which is named RoseBlood. I just.

Also, God. Rune is being so ungrateful. She’s getting this amazing experience, and all she can do is whine to her mom. Like, yeah, I get there are other things going on, but it comes off a little tasteless, Rune. Check yourself.

GUYS WHO WOULD’VE GUESSED RUNE IS BEAUTIFUL. Not me. I’m genuinely shocked. Also, classic, a book trying to get brownie points for making its MC a person of color and then being like “ya but look at that ivory skin. don’t worry, we only use non-white ethnicities to give an exotic flavor.” It’s painfully obvious (looking at you, Mara Dyer.) I’m done with these ivory-skinned protags. Most of the ivory-skinned girls are walking around in badly written YA novels, whining over which boy to choose and glaring daggers at any other Girl who Dares to be as Beautiful as our MC.

Rune’s been thinking about how her grandma tried to kill her twice. And I thought my grandma was bad! (Sorry, grandma, I love you!)

So we learn that Rune has this super-special gift to sing anything she hears, but lately it’s become a curse? Sometimes this “curse” takes hold of her and forces her to sing. (I put “curse” in quotation marks bc of course this “curse” is an amazing talent that ppl would kill to have.)

Yes!! Rune admits her voice isn’t anything to be proud of because she’s never worked for it. The book is acknowledging Rune’s super-speshul MC status! But it’s not gonna change a thing.

Her eyes glow when she sings!!! Our super-speshul MC has super-speshul eyes to go along w/ it. Who’d’ve thunk.

I actually like this little bit here. A song is trying to force its way out (part of the curse), and she’s working hard to tamp it back down. Good. I like to see my MCs work.

I’m a little confused, though, gotta admit. Her mom doesn’t believe in magic shit, but she does seem to believe her daughter has some sort of curse where she has to sing. Like,,, I am confuse. So her mom’s in denial but also…understands her daughter HAS to sing?

Anyway, the chapter ends with some dun-dun-DUN where Rune worries she’ll “be taken over, mind, body, and soul.” Overall, the chapter wasn’t terrible. I give it a 4 out of 10. Anyway, who else is avoiding doing work by writing pointless book snarks?

[aghowardwrites]

[journeyintotheshelves]

Tuesday’s Treats is a weekly blog post dedicated to newly released books that I’m most excited for. (Books are in no particular order.)

All books featured this week will be released: JANUARY 10th

1. Windwitch (The Witchlands: 2): Susan Dennard (goodreads) (book depository)

(This was initially included in last week’s Tuesday’s Treats because, apparently, I don’t know how to read dates anymore. It must mean I’m just super excited for this book. Ha ha.)

I’ve heard such fantastic things about the first book in this series, Truthwitch; I’m so upset with myself that I was unable to read it last year. But now, since the sequel is being released I hope to catch up with this series. Truthwitch follows the story of Safiya and Iseult - two best friends with a taste for trouble - as they try to avoid capture since Safi is a rare Truthwtich: a witch who can tell truth from lies. But nothing is as easy as it seems…

YA Fantasy; Tor Teen, Hardcover (US)

2. The Alchemists of Loom (Loom Saga: 1): Elise Kova (goodreads) (book depository)

Steampunk is a genre that I haven’t read much, but interests me immensely. So once I heard about this book, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

The Alchemists of Loom follows the story of Ari, a rebellious engineer, who actively contributes to the underground organ market in Loom and sells her magical talents to anyone who wants them — as long as the job goes against the Dragon King who took everything from her. When she meets Cvareh, a social outcast hoping to bring his family out of the depths of society, she sees an opportunity to strike at the heart of the Dragon King and finally exact her revenge.

YA Fantasy, Steampunk; Keymaster Press, Hardcover (US)

3. The Bear and the Nightingale: Katherine Arden (goodreads) (book depository)

Unlike many people, Vasilisa doesn’t mind the harsh Russian winters that she and her family have to endure in their house in the Russian wilderness. She loves spending time with her siblings, listening to fairy tales and honoring the spirits of the house. After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father journeys to Moscow and comes how with a new bride, everything in the house changes and Vasilisa is no longer allowed to honor the household spirits. But, unlike the rest of her family, she knows that their survival depends on these honorings and it is up to her to protect her family from a threat only she imagined was real.

Fantasy, Historical Fiction; Del Rey/Random House, Hardcover (US)

4. RoseBlood: A. G. Howard (goodreads) (book depository)

The Phantom of the Opera is a story that I’ve loved from afar for a very long time (I’ve never read the book nor seen the show, but I know the story in the most general form) so as soon as I heard about this retelling, I was so excited. A story about love and music with a bit of mystery? You can’t ask for more, really.

YA Fantasy, Retelling, Romance; Amulet Books, Hardcover (US)

5. Poison's Kiss (Poison's Kiss: 1): Breeana Shields (goodreads) (book depository)

Marinda's kiss kills. She hates it, but as a visha kanya that was what she was born to do, so she serves the Raja with a simple peck. When she’s ordered to kill Deven, a boy she knows can’t be a danger to the Raja, she begins to question everything about her orders and her life. Based on Indian folklore, Poison’s Kiss sounds like an interesting read that can lead just about anywhere.

YA Fantasy; Random House, Hardcover (US)

6. Frostblood (Frostblood Saga: 1): Elly Blake (goodreads) (book depository)

Ruby is a fireblood and must hide her powers from the frostblood ruling class who are hellbent on destroying all of her kind. When Ruby’s mother is killed for protecting her, Ruby agrees to help a rebel group kill the cruel king. All too quickly, she is captured and forced to participate in the king’s tournaments that pit firebloods and frostbloods against one another. However, despite being a prisoner, this may just be Ruby’s one chance to kill the king, exact her revenge, and change her world as she knows it.

YA Fantasy; Little, Brown/Hachette, Hardcover (US)

7. A List of Cages: Robin Roe (goodreads) (book depository)

Adam thinks he has it made when he lands a spot as an aide to the school psychologist as his elective. Then the doctor asks him to find a student who keeps avoiding her and he discovers that it’s Julian, his foster brother that he hasn’t seen in five years. The more time Adam spends with Julian, the more time he realizes that Julian is dealing with more things than Adam could possibly dream about, and he’s determined to help him in any way that he can.

YA Contemporary Fiction; Disney-Hyperion, Hardcover (US)

8. Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day: Seanan McGuire (goodreads) (book depository)

So, I read Seanan McGuire for the first time last year (Every Heart a Doorway; review here), and absolutely loved her writing style and the way she tells a story. Even though they’re short, they pack a punch and her newest, Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day hopefully won’t be any different.

The story follows Jenna, a girl who dies too soon and, therefore, lives the rest of her days as a ghost in New York City. And something is coming for ghosts — something that isn’t death.

Fantasy, Horror; Tor, Hardcover (US)

[silverpetticoat]

http://www.silverpetticoatreview.com/2017/01/10/silver-petticoats-winter-2017-ya-book-preview/

A preview of some awesome YA books to check out this winter! From a retelling of Phantom of the Opera, a fun pirate adventure, to Veronica Roth’s new book, there is something here for everyone!