ARC Review: Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1) by Jay Kristoff

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

UK Cover

US Cover

UK Edition -
Release Date: September 1, 2012
Publisher: Tor UK
352 Pages

US Edition -
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
336 Pages

A DYING LAND 
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever. 

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST 
The hunters of Shima's imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death. 

A HIDDEN GIFT 
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her. 

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

VISIT THE AUTHOR:

Goodreads.Twitter.Website.Facebook

I like this:

Because I love Nirvana and Foo Fighters. And my first thought when seeing Jay's picture was that he was Dave Grohl's doppleganger. 

Read this BLOG POST for funnsises.

FIND THE BOOK:

Goodreads.Amazon.Barnes & Noble

Review:
When I first got this book:

When I started this book:

When I finished this book:

Random fact that no one cares about:

Stormdancer and Cinder by Marissa Meyer were two of my most favoritist books of 2012. This is extra cool to me because Marissa loved Stormdancer, too. (Her praise is in the official blurbs.) It made me love her and respect her amazingly awesome taste even more.

Now I should continue with an actual review of the GREATEST BOOK BASED ON JAPANESE CULTURE THAT I HAVE EVER READ. (Just because I'm pretty positive it's the first makes absolutely no difference to the truth of that statement.) 

So I won this book from Katieb at Mundie Moms. (Lemme just thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou a thousand times more, Katie!) I was so shocked and f*cking ecstatic that I terrified my cat with my cheers. I celebrated by watching Tangled and eating some delicious homemade cookies. When it arrived, I again frightened my cat and immediately buried myself in the pages of this book. It was totally worth almost suffocating.

Its prose is lyrical and addicting. Mr. Kristoff literally paints with his words. I could see the scenery, characters and setting as clear as I can see through glass. Stormdancer is an easy book to fall in love with, if just for the writing.

The characters are wonderful! Jay gave us characters to hate, characters to wonder about and characters to adore. Yukiko, our heroine, is a strong, independent girl. It's very easy to connect with her and root for her as she discovers herself on this crazy adventure. Buruu. Oh Buruu, I will love you forever. I would like to snuggle with you and call you my best friend. The friendship that blooms between Buruu and Yukiko doesn't happen over night. Buruu is cautious, as he has every right to be, but by the end, they are BFFs. I loved the angst between Yukiko and her father, Masaru. I live for angst. And there family drama satisfied me for a week afterwards. Yoritomo-no-miya, Seii Taishogun of the Shima Isles, can eat poop for breakfast. That's how much I hate him. 

Parts of the book were predictable, but then there were shockers that left me reeling. At the end, I was sobbing and crying out for my mother. (Then she came into my room without knocking and I yelled at her for interrupting the epicness that was the end of Stormdancer.) There was nothing about the book that I didn't like… Okay, there was one thing, but I can't tell you because it's a spoiler. Just know that Jay says in his bio that he doesn't believe in happy endings. See HERE - down at the bottom after he gives you his height and tells you how long he thinks he has to live. (THINKS)

My mom has this to say about the book: "It must be damn good if you are crying like that. I don't want to read it. I cry enough as it is. Ooh, that cover is gorgeous! If you ever get a tattoo like that, I will disown you and take your cat." Thank you for your wisdom, Momma H.

I triple-dog dare you to pre-order this book. THAT'S RIGHT. TRIPLE. DOG. DARE. You won't regret it. If you do,  I send you a pound of chocolate. And that's a lot of chocolate.  If this "being an author" thing doesn't work out for him, Jay's got a great chance of being a songwriter. Keep that in mind as you read.

I received an advanced reader's copy of this novel through a giveaway.

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (3)

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. It is based off of the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, Waiting on Wednesday. Since the "On My Wishlist" meme is no longer active, Ed and I have decided to switch to this meme so we can talk about books (and movies) that we want - both released and to-be-released.

This week's theme is:
Books I Would Like to Read For The Second Time

Our Released Pick:

The Pledge (The Pledge #1) by Kimberly Derting

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: November 15, 2011

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

323 Pages

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was one of the best books I read in 2011. Plus Kimberly Derting is on of my favorite authors. I have to reread this one before book two, The Essence comes out in January.

Our To-Be-Released Pick:

Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1) by Jay Kristoff

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: September 18, 2012 

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books 

336 Pages

A DYING LAND 
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever. 

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST 
The hunters of Shima's imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death. 

A HIDDEN GIFT 
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her. 

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

I just finished this book last night and I already need to reread it. Stormdancer is one of the best books that I've ever read. Ever. It's so freaking good and even though I just spent time with the characters last night, I miss them. Is that weird?

Teaser Tuesday: Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1) by Jay Kristoff

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading!

To participate all you have to do is:

•Grab your current read

•Open to a random page

•Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!) 

 Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

------------------

"The rain started at the end of the sixth day, vast black curtains swaying across their path and hissing on the deck. The wood became slippery, and the stink of burned chi over melting varnish saw Yukiko's nausea return with a vengeance. Huddled in an oilskin among the barrels, she prayed the journey would end, sucking down gulps of fresh air and dreading the monsoon."

Chapter 10: Alive and Breathing, Page 71 (ARC)

Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1) by Jay Kristoff

------------------

Waiting on Wednesday (15)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme held on... you guessed it, WEDNESDAY and it's hosted by the wonderful Jill at Breaking the Spine!

Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1) by Jay Kristoff

Release Date: USA Edition - September 18, 2012
                       UK Edition - September 1, 2012 (Lucky jerks.)
Publisher: Tor UK/ Thomas Dunne Books
336 Pages

A DYING LAND 
The Shima Imperium is verging on the brink of environmental collapse; decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshippers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, land choked with toxic pollution, wildlife ravaged by mass extinctions.

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of the imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger—a legendary beast, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows thunder tigers have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.

A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a hidden gift that would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

This book is less "waiting on" more "IF I DON'T GET MY HANDS ON THIS BOOK ASAP, MY LIFE MY NEVER BE HAPPY AGAIN." My mother would call me dramatic if she saw this and I was tell her that I'm an English major, not a Theater major, so I'm never dramatic.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?