Lisa's Looking Forward To - #2 (with giveaway) - January 13th, 2019

You might have noticed this new post I started last weekend HERE.  I think I might add to it a bit, make it a little more like a Sunday post, or a weekly wrap-up post.  I don't know.  We'll see. But for now I am adding one extra thing, at the end I have a giveaway!  I'm going to do one giveaway a week with this post.  I need to probably get rid of more of the ARCs I have.  They don't always seem to go for Books for Trade when I try that, and sometimes I do giveaways, but I thought maybe I'd do a giveaway each week.  So check it out below the books I'm sharing for this week.

These are the books on my list that will be published on January 15th, 2019:

I'm all about any kind of retelling, and this is a retelling of a story I don't know, and I often find those the most interesting, because then I want to go back and find the original tale to learn more about it.  I also am interested to read a James Patterson Presents story, as I have yet to do that as far as I know.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
A modern retelling of a classic Indian legend, 96 Words for Love is a coming-of-age story.


Ever since her acceptance to UCLA, 17-year-old Raya Liston has been quietly freaking out. She feels simultaneously lost and trapped by a future already mapped out for her.

Then her beloved grandmother dies, and Raya jumps at the chance to spend her last free summer at the ashram in India where her grandmother met and fell in love with her grandfather. Raya hopes to find her center and her true path. But she didn't expect to fall in love... with a country of beautiful contradictions, her fiercely loyal cousin, a local girl with a passion for reading, and a boy who teaches her that in Sanskrit, there are 96 different ways to say the word "love."

A modern retelling of the classic Indian legend of Shakuntala and Dushyanta.

I read and enjoyed The Star-Touched Queen by this author, but have yet to get around to any of her other books. But as always, they always seem to be ones I want.  Not to mention the beautiful covers.  Now for some reason, I feel like I already saw this out on the shelves at the bookstore where I work, but I could be wrong.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Set in a darkly glamorous world, The Gilded Wolves is full of mystery, decadence, and dangerous but thrilling adventure.

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can't yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they'll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.

 So, I haven't read either of those yet.  What about you?  Have you read either? Would you recommend them if you have?  If not, will you be adding any to your TBR?  If you leave a comment below, that is one entry into the giveaway!

Giveaway:
So, I think once a week, whenever I do this post, I'm going to give away a couple books from my Books for Trade pile.  The picture below is what I currently have, although between this post and next Saturday, the ending day, that may change by one or two. But I'll let the winner know when I email them.  You will get to pick one book, and I will add one other one of my choice to mail to you.  Unfortunately this is going to be US only giveaway.  :-(  I can't figure out how to do international without spending a ton on postage.  I mean if you really wanted the books, I guess you could send me the money through Paypal to cover the difference between shipping in the US and International.  But otherwise, I can't afford to do it.  Here are the books:

  
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday: A Crown of Wishes (Star-Touched Queen #2) by Roshani Chokshi

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  This week I've once again chosen a sequel.  The way the first book, The Star-Touched Queen, ended, I needed to know more, I was left unsure exactly how things ended up.  But with this second book, I'm looking forward to seeing what I can learn from another point of view.  Here's the blurb from Goodreads:

The new novel follows Gauri, the younger sister of the titular Star-Touched Queen, on her harrowing quest for freedom.

When Gauri, the princess of Bharata, is captured by her kingdom’s rivals, she can only find help in Vikram, the cunning prince of an enemy kingdom. Unsatisfied with royal life, Vikram offers Gauri a chance to win back her kingdom in exchange for her battle prowess. They set aside their differences and team up to compete in the Tournament of Wishes, wherein the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor. Every which way they turn new trials will test their wit and strength. But what Gauri and Vikram soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire.



Have you read the first book yet?  Does this one sound like one you'd want to read?  What book or books are you eagerly awaiting this week?

Review: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

First, thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an egalley of this.  The cover was beautiful, and I'd heard some good things about it, so I was very excited when I was able to fit it into my reading schedule.  Towards the end of the book I just got so sucked in that I didn't want to do anything but finish it, because I needed to know how it would end.  And I'm glad it is supposed to be a series, because I need to know what happens next! 

The  main character is Maya. She is a daughter of the Raja, and while everyone there thinks she is cursed because of when she was born, it turns out that her father is going to marry her off to try to save their kingdom from all the threats of war there are.  But when his plan turns out to be that she is going to die, to kill herself rather than marry any of them, things change.  While she knows it is her duty, chaos breaks out at the time it is to happen, and she is taken away by Amar, who wants her to be his queen. She agrees to it, in order to be safe, and she hopes to save her family. Amar takes her to his kingdom of Akaran.  As they travel there, she learns that many of the stories and myths that she grew up learning are real.  Kingdoms of creatures, and the stars being able to be touched. 

But her new husband is keeping secrets from her.  He promises to tell her all at a certain point, a certain moon.  But Maya can't wait.  There are so many things happening all over the palace, whispering voices, other worlds or times in the mirrors.  And there is something about what Amar wants her to do, and the things he says that bring up memories or feelings.  And she hears Amar and his servant talking, and begins to wonder just what the secrets are.  And inside one of the mirrors there is a woman who says she used to be Maya's friend, and that she can't trust Amar, and only she can help Maya. 

Now Maya must choose who to trust.  Her husband, who is more than he seems, and does really seem to love her though.  Or this person who says she used to be her best friend, and also uses the secretive way Amar is to prove her point that he can't be trusted.  Whatever her decision, it will affect many things, not only her own life, but the lives of the world around her. 

The world was beautiful, and while Maya's choice makes me so mad, it also led to a great new aspect of the story, and I need to know what will happen to Maya and Amar's relationship.  I look forward to reading on in this story.