This week’s theme is Books to Read By the Pool/At the Beach
Torn (The Unraveled Kingdom #1) by Rowenna Miller Also by this author: Torn, Fray
Published by Orbit on March 20, 2018
Pages: 480
TORN is the first book in an enchanting debut fantasy series featuring a seamstress who stitches magic into clothing, and the mounting political uprising that forces her to choose between her family and her ambitions, for fans of The Queen of the Tearling.
Sophie is a dressmaker who has managed to open her own shop and lift herself and her brother, Kristos, out of poverty. Her reputation for beautiful ball gowns and discreetly-embroidered charms for luck, love, and protection secures her a commission from the royal family itself -- and the commission earns her the attentions of a dashing but entirely unattainable duke.
Meanwhile, Kristos rises to prominence in the growing anti-monarchist movement. Their worlds collide when the revolution's shadow leader takes him hostage and demands that Sophie place a curse on the queen's Midwinter costume -- or Kristos will die at their hand.
As the proletariat uprising comes to a violent climax, Sophie is torn: between her brother and the community of her birth, and her lover and the life she's striven to build.
The Valiant (The Valiant, #1) by Lesley Livingston Also by this author: The Valiant, The Defiant
Published by Razorbill on February 14, 2017
Pages: 372
Princess. Captive. Gladiator.
Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king, the sister of the legendary warrior Sorcha, and the sworn enemy of Julius Caesar.
When Fallon was a child, Caesar’s armies invaded her homeland, and her beloved sister was killed in battle.
Now, on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is eager to follow in her sister’s footsteps and earn her place in the fearsome Cantii war band. She never gets the chance.
Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators—owned by none other than Julius Caesar. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who destroyed Fallon’s family might be her only hope of survival.
Now Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries and deadly fights—in and out of the arena. And perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her forbidden yet irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier.
Also by this author: Red Rising, Golden Son
Published by Del Rey (Random House) on January 28, 2014
Pages: 382
"I live for the dream that my children will be born free," she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them."
"I live for you," I say sadly.
Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.
Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.
But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
Also by this author: Broken Monsters, The Shining Girls
Published by Mulholland Books on September 16, 2014
Pages: 442
Detective Gabriella Versado has seen a lot of bodies, but this one is unique even by Detroit's standards: half boy, half deer, somehow fused together. As stranger and more disturbing bodies are discovered, how can the city hold on to a reality that is already tearing at its seams? If you're Detective Versado's geeky teenage daughter, Layla, you commence a dangerous flirtation with a potential predator online. If you're desperate freelance journalist Jonno, you do whatever it takes to get the exclusive on a horrific story. If you're Thomas Keen, known on the street as TK, you'll do what you can to keep your homeless family safe--and find the monster who is possessed by the dream of violently remaking the world.
If Lauren Beukes's internationally bestselling The Shining Girls was a time-jumping thrill ride through the past, her Broken Monsters is a genre-redefining thriller about broken cities, broken dreams, and broken people trying to put themselves back together again.
Also by this author: Dirty Magic, Cursed Moon
Published by Orbit on January 21, 2014
Pages: 381
The first in an all-new urban fantasy series by USA Today bestseller Jaye Wells.
The last thing patrol cop Kate Prospero expected to find on her nightly rounds was a werewolf covered in the blood of his latest victim. But then, she also didn't expect that shooting him would land her in the crosshairs of a Magic Enforcement Agency task force, who wants to know why she killed their lead snitch.
The more Prospero learns about the dangerous new potion the MEA is investigating, the more she's convinced that earning a spot on their task force is the career break she's been wanting. But getting the assignment proves much easier than solving the case. Especially once the investigation reveals their lead suspect is the man she walked away from ten years earlier—on the same day she swore she'd never use dirty magic again.
Kate Prospero's about to learn the hard way that crossing a wizard will always get you burned, and that when it comes to magic, you should be never say never.
Also by this author: Magicians Impossible
Published by Thomas Dunne Books on September 12, 2017
Pages: 393
Bartender Jason Bishop's world is shattered when his estranged father Daniel seemingly commits suicide, but the greater shock comes when he learns his father was a secret agent in the employ of the Invisible Hand; an ancient society of spies wielding magic in a centuries-spanning war. Now the Golden Dawn; the shadowy cabal of witches and warlocks responsible for Daniel Bishop's murder, and the death of Jason's mother years before, have Jason in their sights. His survival will depend on mastering his own dormant magic abilities; provided he makes it through the training.
From New York, to Paris, to worlds between worlds, Jason's journey through the realm of magic will be fraught with peril. But with enemies and allies on both sides of this war, whom can he trust? The Invisible Hand, who've been more of a family than his own family ever was? The Golden Dawn, who may know the secrets behind his mysterious lineage? For Jason Bishop, only one thing is for certain; the magic he has slowly been mastering is telling him not to trust anybody.
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) by Martha Wells
Also by this author: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)
Published by Tor.com on May 2, 2017
Pages: 144
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.
But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.
On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.
But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.
The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp
Also by this author: The Last Days of Jack Sparks
Published by Orbit on March 3, 2016
Pages: 336
Jack Sparks died while writing this book. This is the account of his final days.
In 2014, Jack Sparks - the controversial pop culture journalist - died in mysterious circumstances.
To his fans, Jack was a fearless rebel; to his detractors, he was a talentless hack. Either way, his death came as a shock to everyone.
It was no secret that Jack had been researching the occult for his new book. He'd already triggered a furious Twitter storm by mocking an exorcism he witnessed in rural Italy.
Then there was that video: thirty-six seconds of chilling footage that Jack repeatedly claimed was not of his making, yet was posted from his own YouTube account.
Nobody knew what happened to Jack in the days that followed - until now. This book, compiled from the files found after his death, reveals the chilling details of Jack's final hours.
Also by this author: The Three, Day Four
Published by Hodder & Stoughton on May 21, 2015
Pages: 352
Four planes. Three survivors. One message. It seemed like the end of the world... but it wasn't. This, however, just might be.
The extraordinary, unforgettable sequel to The Three - perfect for fans of The Shining Girls, The Passage and Lost.
Four days into a five day singles cruise on the Gulf of Mexico, the ageing ship Beautiful Dreamer stops dead in the water. With no electricity and no cellular signals, the passengers and crew have no way to call for help. But everyone is certain that rescue teams will come looking for them soon. All they have to do is wait.
That is, until the toilets stop working and the food begins to run out. When the body of a woman is discovered in her cabin the passengers start to panic. There's a murderer on board the Beautiful Dreamer... and maybe something worse.
Also by this author: The Heart Goes Last, Hag-Seed
Published by Nan A. Talese on September 29, 2015
Pages: 320
Margaret Atwood puts the human heart to the ultimate test in an utterly brilliant new novel that is as visionary as The Handmaid's Tale and as richly imagined as The Blind Assassin.
Stan and Charmaine are a married couple trying to stay afloat in the midst of an economic and social collapse. Job loss has forced them to live in their car, leaving them vulnerable to roving gangs. They desperately need to turn their situation around - and fast. The Positron Project in the town of Consilience seems to be the answer to their prayers. No one is unemployed and everyone gets a comfortable, clean house to live in... for six months out of the year. On alternating months, residents of Consilience must leave their homes and function as inmates in the Positron prison system. Once their month of service in the prison is completed, they can return to their "civilian" homes.
At first, this doesn't seem like too much of a sacrifice to make in order to have a roof over one's head and food to eat. But when Charmaine becomes romantically involved with the man who lives in their house during the months when she and Stan are in the prison, a series of troubling events unfolds, putting Stan's life in danger. With each passing day, Positron looks less like a prayer answered and more like a chilling prophecy fulfilled.
Also by this author: The Tethered Mage, The Defiant Heir
Published by Orbit on October 24, 2017
Pages: 438
In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled -- taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army.
Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire.
Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound the heir and the mage.
War looms on the horizon. A single spark could turn their city into a pyre.
The Tethered Mage is the first novel in a spellbinding new fantasy series.
I’m going to see if my library will purchase Torn. I’m super interested in that one and have been seeing it around here and there. I’ve not read any of these but it sure looks like you’ve got some good ones here.
I really enjoyed that one! Hope they get it for you 🙂
Lisa (@TenaciousReader) recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Books to Read By the Pool/At the Beach
Ok some of these don’t seem light at all! I remember Broken Monsters being very dark, lol. But I agree, I pretty much read the same types of books year round, so it doesn’t really matter?
Tammy @Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Summer 2018 Most Anticipated Books
I did say “or page turners”, but that kinda is easy to miss I think …. I don’t do well with lists that dont have some dark books on them 🙂
Lisa (@TenaciousReader) recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Books to Read By the Pool/At the Beach
Ok while these all look like great books and I have read some of them, they are pretty dark to be beach reads. The closest would be Dirty Magic I think. Anne – Books of My Heart
yeah, I will read dark books anywhere 🙂
Lisa (@TenaciousReader) recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Books to Read By the Pool/At the Beach
I just finished listening to All Systems Red, and it was quite interesting. I’ve heard good things about many of the others on this list, so you have good reading ahead of you.
Liz recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: #alaac18 edition
I’ve read and really enjoyed all of these 🙂 Loved Murderbot!
Lisa (@TenaciousReader) recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Books to Read By the Pool/At the Beach
I really have to read Murderbot…lol
Lisa recently posted…Book Review: Demon Haunted by Ashe Armstrong
I really enjoyed Dirty Magic!
Melliane recently posted…Cold Hard Secret by Sierra Dean
Such a great list. I’m finally reading Red Rising right now.
Jennifer | Book Den recently posted…Recent Updates and Currently Reading | June 17
Great list! I’ve read The Heart Goes Last. It was an awkward experience because the main characters have the same names as my grandparents.
Aj @ Read All The Things! recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: What I’m Reading This Summer
I haven’t read a single one of these! Some of them sound really fun, too. Thanks for the ideas!
Some of these are definitely page-turners…though a few I’m not so sure about lighter or funner, haha 😀
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Spotlight & Giveaway: The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French
Oh man I forgot all about The Valiant! I’ve been wanting to read that (and the sequel). And I LOVED All Systems Red.
Greg recently posted…Can’t Wait Wednesday #27/ Midweek Stuff