Top Ten Character Names I Love

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

I’m a name nerd who spends hours upon hours looking at baby names for characters, electronics, and anything else I can name (usually because I can’t find a damn name I like), so this week’s theme is PERFECT for me to jump into Top Ten Tuesday regularly with. I feel like I’m going mad having two reviews a week and nothing else. I want to have more fun! That’s what blogging is supposed to be, right? Anyway, my top ten favorite character names with reasons why that will probably make you laugh at me:

1. Esme Rockett (Sister Mischief by Laura Goode)- First off, I think Esme is a gorgeous name. It reminds me of jewels. Second, HER LAST NAME IS ROCKETT. Rockets are awesome enough, but it looks even better with that extra t on the end just chilling. Changing/adding/subtracting just one letter from a name can make a huge difference in how I perceive it. The girl is a rockstar (actually, she’s a rapper, but you know what I mean) with a name like that.

2. Katharine Tulman (The Dark Unwinding/A Spark Unseen by Sharon Cameron)- I’m very picky with how the name is spelled–I prefer Katherine and typically revile all spellings of it that start with a C–and at first glance, the spelling here bothered me because WRONG WRONG WRONG. Unlike most alternate spellings of names, this one grew on me and I really, really like it now.

3. Eleanor Fitt (Something Strange and Deadly/A Darkness Strange and Lovely/Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard)- Okay, so I didn’t like Eleanor’s book so much (I still want to read on in the series because I have a good feeling about it), but I love her name. Eleanor is typically not a favorite of mine because it’s a little too retro for my tastes, but pairing it with Fitt as a surname made it work for me all of a sudden. A too-sweet older name balanced out by a curt, harsh surname. Yesss.

4. Vanessa Adler (Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black)- I didn’t like this book either and I’m far from alone in not liking it, but Vanessa is another favorite name. It looks so pretty and sounds so smooth when you say it and– You know what? Let’s cut that off there before this turns into a love letter to that name. Now that I think about it, I like an unusual number of names where the surname is significantly shorter than the character’s given name. I think it gives a nice effect of balance to a name.

5. Audrey Whitticomb (Dark Star/Burn Bright by Bethany Frenette)- Confession: Audrey is one of my favorite names. I could fill in any novel with a character named Audrey in this slot. Like most, I associate it with the glamorous Audrey Hepburn and even on its own, the name Audrey looks fancy. If I were a more outgoing girl who dug all the fancier things in life, I’d want my name to be Audrey because it fits so perfectly.

6. Briony (Chime by Franny Billingsley)- It’s not a name I would use myself, but I LOVE the name Briony whether it’s spelled that way or spelled as Bryony. It sounds lovely and it looks pretty too. Not necessarily neat, but unusual and lovely that way.

7. Every princess’s name in Entwined by Heather Dixon- There’s Azalea, Bramble, Clover, Delphinium, Eve, Flora, Goldenrod, Hollyhock, Ivy, Jessamine, Kale, and Lily. Seeing as there are twelve of them, I had to squeeze them all into one number because they would have made up the entire damn list otherwise. I’m really fond of nature-like names and though the cast has a questionable name in Kale, I genuinely like all the princesses’ names. What can I say? I have a weakness for nature names.

8. Alona Dare (The Ghost and The Goth/The Queen of the Dead/Body & Soul by Stacey Kade)- Rarely is a character’s name so perfect for them. Alona comes off as a preppy name to me and Alona is pretty to the extreme. Good God, this girl. Also a good, unique name for a cheerleader, which she also is. Dare works as a verb and as a mutilated descriptor. There’s little she doesn’t dare to do.

…Hey, I had to make a pun somewhere in this post. Deal with it.

9. Julie Beaufort-Stuart (Code Name Verity/Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein)– Can’t say much about this one for reasons, but it sounds so regal and royal and matches its character perfectly even if we don’t learn it until… Nope. Nope. Not gonna say it.

10. Nikki Beckett (Everneath/Everbound/Evertrue by Brodi Ashton)- It’s got such a nice, bouncy rhythm when you say it, Nikki Beckett, Nikki Beckett, Nikki Beckett,… All those k sounds together sound nice instead of harsh and it’s pleasing to the eyes.

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Now indulge my name-nerdiness. What did y’all come up with? I want to see! Feel free to tell me whether or not I made sense in the reasoning for any of my picks too.

Top Ten Tuesday: Week 49

Top Ten Tuesday  is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week’s theme: Usagi’s Top Ten of 2013 so far!

USAGI:

This is really hard for me since I have approximately 81 shelved under “best of ’13” on GR already, but here’s what I finally picked because of reasons. So, without further ado, and in no particular order:

1. “Two Boys Kissing” by David Levithan

2. “Pantomime” by Laura Lam

3. “Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)” by Marissa Meyer

4. “Hemlock Grove” by Brian McGreevy

5. “Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2)” by RL LaFevers

6. “Charm & Strange” by Stephanie Kuehn

7. “Siege & Storm (Grisha #2)” by Leigh Bardugo

8. “Teeth” by Hannah Moskowitz

9. “The Summer Prince” by Alaya Dawn Johnson

10. “Homeland (Little Brother #2)” by Cory Doctorow

What are your top ten of 2013 so far? Participate this week at the Broke and the Bookish!

Top Ten Tuesday: Week 48

Top Ten Tuesday  is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week’s theme: Usagi’s Top Ten Most Anticipated Spring/Early Summer 2013 releases!

All of these books have caught my eye in one way or another, so I’m pretty much dying to read them. Heh. So here they are, in graphic and word form, in no particular order:

1. “Star Cursed (Cahill Witch Chronicles #2)” by Jessica Spotswood

2. “Charm & Strange” by Stephanie Kuehn

3. “The Collector” by Victoria Scott

4. “Unbreakable (Unraveling #2)” by Elizabeth Norris

5. “Dance of the Red Death (Red Death #2)” by Bethany Griffin

6. “If I Should Die (Revenants #3)” by Amy Plum

7. “Ashes on the Waves” by Mary Lindsay

8. “Icons” by Margaret Stohl

9. “The Program” by Suzanne Young

10. “Goddess (Starcrossed #3)” by Josephine Angelini

 

Runners-up: “The Beautiful and the Cursed”, “Clockwork Princess”, “Oath Bound”, “Strands of Bronze & Gold”, “The Oathbreaker’s Secret”, “Spirit and Dust”, “Loki’s Wolves”, and many more!

 

What about you? Participate at the Broke & the Bookish this week!

Top Ten Tuesday: Week 47

Top Ten Tuesday  is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week’s theme: Usagi’s Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors List!

This one was really, really hard to decide, guys. I have so many auto-buy authors on my list, it’s not even funny. So the ones that didn’t quite make it into the top ten are in the runners-up category. Anyway…

In no particular order –

1. Julie Kagawa. Book(s) that led to this decision: “The Iron King”.

2. David Levithan. Book(s) that led to this decision: “Every Day”.

3. Holly Black. Book(s) that led to this decision: “Tithe”, “White Cat”

4. Hannah Moskowitz. Book(s) that led to this decision: “Teeth”

5. Francesca Lia Block. Book(s) that led to this decision: “Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books”, “Wasteland”. (Seriously guys how could my mentor not be on my auto-buy list?)

6. Cory Doctorow. Book(s) that led to this decision: “Little Brother”

7. Terry Goodkind. Book(s) that led to this decision: The “Sword of Truth” series

8. Marissa Meyer. Book(s) that led to this decision: “Scarlet”

9. Laini Taylor. Book(s) that led to this decision: “The Daughter of Smoke & Bone”

10. John Ajvide Lindqvist. Book(s) that led to this decision: “Let the Right One In”

RUNNERS-UP: Kendare Blake (“Anna Dressed in Blood)”, Jay Kristoff (“Stormdancer”), Andrea Cremer (“Nightshade”), Maggie Stiefvater (“The Scorpio Races”), Leigh Bardugo (“Shadow & Bone”), Neil Gaiman (“The Graveyard Book”), George R R Martin (“A Game of Thrones”), Melissa Marr (“Wicked Lovely”), Melissa de la Cruz (“Blue Bloods”), Kami Garcia (“Beautiful Creatures”), Margaret Stohl (“Beautiful Creatures”), John Green (“The Fault in Our Stars”), Richelle Mead (“Bloodlines”), Otsuichi (“Goth”), Nisioisin (“Bakemonogatari”), Murakami Haruki (“Kafka by the Shore”/”1Q84”), Sarah Rees Brennan (“Unspoken”/”Team Human”), Jacqueline Carey (“Kushiel’s Dart”), Cassandra Clare (“City of Bones”), Scott Westerfeld (“Uglies”), Jeff Lindsay (“Darkly Dreaming Dexter”), Lauren Oliver (“Delirium”), JK Rowling (“Harry Potter”), Anthony Bourdain (“The Nasty Bits”), Justin Cronin (“The Passage”), Carrie Ryan (“The Forest of Hands & Teeth”), China Mieville (“The City & The City”), Kristin Cashore (“Graceling”), Gabrielle Zevin (“All These Things That I’ve Done”), Lauren DeStefano (“Wither”), Tahereh Mafi (“Shatter Me”).

Yeah, I know it’s a lot of auto-buys. My wallet is currently sobbing on the floor.

What about you? Participate at the Broke & the Bookish this week!

Top Ten Tuesday: Week 46

Top Ten Tuesday  is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week’s theme: Usagi’s Top Ten Bookish Memories!

In no particular order –

1. Midnight Release for “Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix” (21 June 2003) – I remember this release because this was the same night I graduated from high school. So a bunch of our bffs got together (because we were AP nerds and loved HP) to the midnight release! It was wonderful and a lot of fun. A great way to remember my high school grad.

2. Book Launch Party for Leigh Bardugo’s “Shadow & Bone” (June 2012) – This was SO much fun. I got to bond more with friend of the blog Aurora Gray, and got to hang out with Leigh and Jennifer Bosworth and other friends of the blog, among others. And there was champagne. AND CANDY. It was awesome. Hopefully there’ll be another one like it for “Siege and Storm” later this year!

3. Beginning master classes with my childhood writing idol and current mentor, Francesca Lia Block (5 July 2010) – Words can’t express how much these classes meant (and still mean) to me. I’m so thankful to be working with Francesca, and I’m thankful she’s been able to put up with me for this long. She’s a second mother, a critic who keeps me honest, and a good friend.

4. ALA 2012 (June 2012) – Got to meet a lot of new friends at my first ALA, along with a lot of older ones, though we kept missing each other! The book signings were wonderful, and I got to hang out with a lot of my current favorite authors before and during signings. This was so much fun, and though I wish I could do it again this year (or BEA, for that matter), it’s just not financially feasible. Sadly enough.

5. “Eclipse”, or, how Usagi got her books-in-English groove back (September 2006 – June 2007) – Okay, I’m no “Twilight” fan, but I do have to give credit where it’s due. I came home from doing my year abroad in Tokyo and started my final year at SB in 2006, and friends of mine from high school ended up on the same floor (!), and along with the new friends I made in on the same dorm floor, “Eclipse” soon started to circulate around the floor (and the boys read it too – no joke). We called it the dorm bicycle because that one copy (and it was pretty ragged by the end) got around so much.

6. LA Times Festival of Books 2010 @ UCLA (May 2010) – Also known as “how I got extra translating work”, “how I got tracked down Wil Wheaton and got him to sign my book”, and “how many amazing panels did I go to? TOO MANY”. SO many awesome panels and people, many of them YA, and some of them not, but it was a really great experience all the same. I got a lot of books signed and it was generally awesome. Sadly, I feel like the FoB hasn’t been the same since it moved to USC in 2011, mostly because it’s harder to get to and it’s not in the greatest neighborhood. Oh well.

7. Junior Year @ ICU (June 2005 – July 2006) – This was my year in Japan through the UC exchange program. This is how I really learned how to read (and write, though my handwriting is still shit) in Japanese, and how I was really able to start reading novels and not just manga in Japanese, as well as write an exit dissertation in academic Japanese. This year nearly broke my body (I was really, really sick by the time I got home), but I’m glad I did it, and I miss living in Japan quite a bit. I spent a lot of free time going to Book-Off (there were three stores within a three train-line radius near my guesthouse!) and to otaku stores with friends. But I want to thank everyone who had the patience to teach me how to read and write – it’s not easy dealing with an autistic person, period, much less one that keeps missing entire radicals when she’s writing in kanji. So thank you.

8. Being on my high school art magazine senior editorial staff for two years running (September 2001 – June 2003) – Even though it was a LOT of work (and also incurred a lot of emotional pain with friends and boyfriends clashing), this is perhaps my best memory of high school. Forget prom, I’m still close with most of these people and we stay in touch. I hope we’re able to get together later this year for my first high school reunion, though I’m also sort of dreading it. I still have copies of our magazine for those years, and I’m amazed we were able to do what we did in the amount of time that we had (which was nearly zero, btw). I’m proud of us.

9. Deciding to use this blog to branch out from creative writing to reviews (October 2010) – One of the best decisions I ever made. Really. I’ve met some wonderful people (some of which I’ve been able to meet, yay!) and I’ve read so many, many great books in that time. I’m glad I pushed myself to do so. I’m glad I’ve been able to interact with all of you!

10. Picking up “Miss World” by Randi Black and redesigning the cover for it (2011-2012) – Since then Randi and I have become really close, and I’m proud to say that I redesigned the kindle cover for the book. So when you buy the book now on amazon? I made that cover. Yep. Me. She’s become an invaluable writing partner, critic, and friend. Just goes to show – not all indie authors are dicks.

What about you? What are your top ten bookish memories? Participate at Broke and Bookish today!

Top Ten Tuesday: Week 45

Top Ten Tuesday  is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week’s theme: Top Ten 2013 releases Usagi is looking forward to!

Okay, guys, so I cheated this week because there are so many delicious-looking debuts and sophomore (or later) efforts, so I divided my books into ten of each. There are so many more I wanted to include but couldn’t! 2013 is looking like it’s going to be fantastic, book-wise. All of these sound amazing or I’ve been waiting for these sequels to come out, so I won’t waste any time describing why I want these books (just look them up on GR – enough said, right?), so, in no particular order…

Top Ten Tuesday – Week 44

Top Ten Tuesday  is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week’s theme: Top Ten Fall Releases Usagi is Looking Forward to!

Okay, so, I’m a bit pressed for time, so I made a collage in PS for all of my most anticipated releases. I’m looking forward to all of these because they sound really awesome, so here’s hoping they don’t disappoint!

1. “The Raven Boys” by Maggie Stiefvater – September

2. “Mystic City” by Theo Lawrence – October

3. “Because It Is My Blood (Birthright #2)” by Gabrielle Zevin – September

4. “The Hallowed Ones” by Laura Bickle – September

5. “The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey – Call of the Forgotten #1)” by Julie Kagawa – October

6. “Through to You” by Emily Hainesworth – October

7. “Venom” by Fiona Paul – October

8. “Valkyrie Rising” by Ingrid Paulson – October

9. “Alice in Zombieland” by Gena Showalter – September

10. “Beta” by Rachel Cohn – October

Honorable Mentions: “The Shadow Society” by Marie Rutkoski, “Through to You” by Tamara Stone, “The Darkest Minds” by Alexandra Bracken, “Hidden (Firelight #3)” by Sophie Jordan, “Little Star” by John Ajvide Lindqvist

 

What are your top ten for the fall? Participate today at Broke and Bookish!

Top Ten Tuesday – Week 43

Top Ten Tuesday  is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week’s theme: Usagi’s Top Ten Book Blogger Confessions

Oh boy, do I have quite a few of these. I’m not holding back, because this is the perfect moment to vent and heal. I may sound like a total bitch by the end of this, but I promise you, I’m not. At least, unless you pull some of the things listed below. ❤

1. Dramallamas – Good god, am I sick of all of the drama going around the community. I’m really tired of bloggers HAVING TO QUIT because someone has harrassed them into it (I’m looking at you, GRbullies). We’ve lost three great bloggers in the past two months alone, and I don’t want to lose any more of them. Seriously. Chill, everyone.

2. Self-Pubs: Up until all of the drama, I was more than happy to look over any self-pubs that came my way. But since, I’ve been wary. Why? I don’t want to deal with the drama (and quite frankly, more than just a few were terrible even though they sounded awesome). Until we all calm down, I’m just not accepting any self-pubs. I’m sorry. I wish it were different, but…/kanye shrug You get the idea. I love self-pubs, don’t get me wrong, but I am NOT loving the behavior that’s coming pre-packaged with it.

3. ANYONE trying to do a review inquiry to me on GR: Sorry, that’s an auto-block for me now. I was getting a lot of requests, most of them for books that I’ve stated I have no interest in reading, genre-wise. Even small pubs were doing it, so I had to put my foot down on GR a few weeks ago. I hate it when I have to do that. For those who want inquiries from any book blogger? Take a look at their rules first. You might actually get a review that way.

4. Book bloggers who flaunt very coveted ARCs waaaaaay before their pub date: I really try not to be one of these people, but I know I’ve ended up looking like an ass more than once because of this. I try not to flail publicly about an awesome book, and I try not to brag, and I think I’ve been doing a better job at it now that I’m fully in the swing of things. I just find it awful that some bloggers kind of hold these ARCs over the heads of everyone else so far else ahead of the time – it’s cruel.

5. I am the ultimate book blogger cliche – I want my novel to be published: YES, THIS IS ME, I TOTALLY ADMIT IT. Actually, my first book is in the hands of an agent right now. Hopefully she’ll take me on, and if not, well, I can always try again. I hope I’m not jinxing myself actually talking about it, which is why I’ve been silent on the issue except to friends.

6. ARCs are not the end all of things: I have to keep reminding myself this when I get denied a particularly coveted title. I’ll get my chance at it after it’s published. But I think we all forget this in the community and get upset about it a lot. I know I do.

7. I’m sick of “TEAM BOY A” versus “TEAM BOY B” Web Badges: For many many reasons, but I just kind of find it particularly obnoxious. Not unexpected, but…I guess since YA is so oversaturated right now with love triangles, I just can’t take it anymore. You know what would be awesome? If it were TEAM BOY A versus TEAM BOY B for a male MC stuck in a triangle – more GLBT love triangles would be totally sweet.

8. No more slut-shaming in lit: In ANY genre or ANY lit. I’m sick of the purity myth (particularly in YA lit) and how one’s virginity measures one’s worth. Sorry, it doesn’t measure your worth and it SHOULDN’T measure your worth. Don’t let yourself or your MC be defined by her virginity (or lack thereof).

9. Disappoint in the number of male book bloggers: They seem so few. I only know of a handful compared to the female blogging masses. Come on, guys, get with it! We don’t bite. Hard.

10.  Book Blogging Burnout is starting to happen: I’m starting to get hardcore burnt out from book blogging, but I think that just means another hiatus is in order fairly soon. Probably in November. (Or, if I get to work on the book, sooner than that.) I know I’m not the only one, and while that’s comforting, it’s still not a great feeling.

BONUS CONFESSION #1: I’m terrible with answering with comments and I lurk a LOT. But if you catch me on twitter, I think you’ll find me fairly chatty. Sorry I’m not great at that part of web etiquette, dudes.

BONUS CONFESSION #2: I don’t lend out my books often – not even to my mother. Why? Damage and loss. I had a bad experience in college with a friend that nearly destroyed my copy of “Shimotsuma Monogatari”, lost the cover, etc when I let it to her for her translation class. Luckily the spine is still in one piece, as are all of the pages. I’ve had more than a few books never get returned. My mother has gotten better about not dog-earing the pages, but I’m reluctant to lend to her. Believe me, I get VICIOUS when it comes to book damage. Hence, why I get reluctant about lending out my books.

Wow, that feels a lot better. Thanks for listening. And be sure to participate this week at the Broke and the Bookish!

Top Ten Tuesday – Week 42

Top Ten Tuesday  is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week’s theme: Top Ten Favorite Books Usagi’s Read Since She Started (Book) Blogging

There are WAY too many to mention and it was really hard narrowing them down. So here are my top ten, in no particular order, followed by ten runner-ups and then, top ten manga/light novels. All of these books totally knocked my socks off with how awesome they were, so I’m just going to give you the titles – otherwise the descriptions might get really repetitive.

1. “Stormdancer” by Jay Kristoff

2. “1Q84” by Murakami Haruki

3. “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern

4. “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R R Martin (Cover featured: Book 4 – “A Feast for Crows”)

5. “Mardock Scramble (English Omnibus Edition)” by Ubakata Tow

6. “The Diviners” by Libba Bray

7. “Starcrossed” series by Josephine Angelini (Cover featured: Book 1 – “Starcrossed”)

8. “Horsemen of the Apocalypse Quartet” by Jackie Morse Kessler (Cover featured: Book 2 – “Rage”)

9. “The Elementals” by Francesca Lia Block

10. “The Curse Workers” trilogy by Holly Black (Cover featured: Book 3 – “Black Heart”)

Top Ten Tuesday – Week 41

Top Ten Tuesday  is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week’s theme: Usagi’s Top Ten Books on the Summer TBR list!

1.  “What’s Left of Me” by Kat Zhang – I’ve been pining for this one since…December? January? But it sounds so awesome, and I’ve always been fascinated with the biopunk idea of making two of someone (whether just body or just soul) and having a spare in case of accidental or early death. (RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 18th)

2. “Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2)” by Kendare Blake – It’s more “Anna”. Need I say more? (RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 7th)

3. “Tokyo Heist” by Diana Renn – Tokyo is my second home, so I really hope this book does it justice. It sounds awesome – heists in my adopted second home? YES PLEASE. (RELEASE DATE: JUNE 14th)

4. “Dearly, Beloved (Gone with the Respiration #2)” by Lia Habel – Oh yes. More zombie on human love, please! And more plagues this time around, too! (RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 25th)

5. “Rift (Witches’ War Prequel #1)” by Andrea Cremer – SO excited for this one, I can’t even. More wolfy action and it’s a prequel. Count me in. (RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 7th)

6. “Carnival of Souls” by Melissa Marr – Sounds like “Hunger Games” but instead of food/dystopian post-America, you get witches, daimons, and souls. I really can’t wait for this one, guys! (RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 4th)

7. “Alice in Zombieland” by Gena Showalter – Alice and zombies! A very much do want-sort-of-book. (RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 25th)

8. “Dark Companion” by Marta Acosta – Creepy boarding school books? I love those! And this is one of those, it looks like. (RELEASE DATE: JULY 3rd)

9. “The Lost Girl” by Sangu Mandanna – See my explanation for book #1, as they’re similar that way. (RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 28th)

10. “Soulbound: The Legacy of Tril” by Heather Brewer –YES, more hard YA fantasy with soulmates and evil wars! I can’t wait to dig my claws into this one! (RELEASE DATE: JUNE 19th)

What about you? What are your top ten reads for the summer release season? Participate at Broke and Bookish this week!