Hello Bookworms,
It is the end of another month which means its another month of new releases. So what are the top five new releases. 

Expected publication: March 28th 2017 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
​
​A new epic fantasy by National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy.

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around-- and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? and if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

In this sweeping and breathtaking new novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.

Welcome to Weep.

Hello Bookworms,
Today's post is a bit different then our normal #writingwednesday posts, but it is for a very special reason. I like to watch Youtube. Alot. I watch youtube more than netflix. While I don't always watch vlogs, I do enjoy also watching videos about books and writing, more so recently. One of these Youtubers, Vivien Reis, is also writing a book. I love watching her videos about writing and grammar, I know nerd. But her videos are so accessable. She explains things really well, so you don't feel like you are in a lecture. She is being smart andis taking her own advice doing pre-release marketing. Reis is going to be a self published author, and I for one am super excited for this release. If her videos have taught me anything it is that she is brilliant. I can't wait to see what she writes. So what does that cover look like? 

Release date: Spring 2017 (date TBA)

Synopsis:A mysterious island. An ancient evil. A society determined to gain power.

Fifteen-year-old Abigail Cole and seventeen-year-old Benjamin Cole never thought one day could alter their lives forever. After a violent attack leaves their father in the hospital and their mother goes missing, both discover there’s more to their family history than mental illness.

But when Abi is abducted, she learns the attack wasn’t random. Thrust into an exotic and beautiful world part of a multi-millennial feud, Abi must decide who to trust in a society built on secrets. Enlisting the help of a boy connected to her in impossible ways, Abi uncovers a family secret stretching generations--a secret her abductors have also discovered.

With Abi gone, Ben tries his best to search for both his sister and his mother, but his hold on reality is fading. Something dark has latched onto him. Violent hallucinations and paranoia force him to believe he’s next in line for the family curse.

Set in a world of magic and fatal powers, failure can result in unthinkable damage. With the clock ticking, Abi and Ben must decide what’s right in time to save themselves and those they love.

When darkness is coming, who do you trust?


To read an excerpt of The Elysian Prophecy, click here!

Okay tell me that doesn't look and sound great! And don't even deny it. We all judge a book by it's cover.

​

About the author: 
Vivien Reis grew up all over the world and started out as most writers do--voraciously reading every book she could get her hands on ,and writing as soon as she could wield a pencil.
Nowadays she's a mechanical engineer by day and a writer by night, doing her best to help other aspiring novelists reach their full potential through her website and YouTube channel.
She started writing her debut novel, The Elysian Prophecy, during a Camp NaNoWriMo event in July 2015. The YA dark fantasy will be available for purchase in Spring 2017. Feel free to join her newsletter to be among the first to hear of any Elysian news!

Twitter | Goodreads | Website | YouTube | Instagram

Giveaway details

One winner will receive an eARC of THE ELYSIAN PROPHECY, when available. Entering is simple, just fill out the entry form below. Winners will be announced on Vivien Reis's original cover reveal post here and in her monthly newsletter (sign up now!) within 30 days after the giveaway ends. 
Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway: 
​http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1bbd0cea4

The Race (Book #4 Issac Bell)
By Clive Cussler
3.5 stars
Kindle Edition, 369 pages
Published (first published September 6th 2011)
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Nobel
Goodreads Summary:
It is 1910, the age of flying machines is still in its infancy, and newspaper publisher Preston Whiteway is offering $50,000 for the first daring aviator to cross America in less than fifty days. He is even sponsoring one of the prime candidates-an intrepid woman named Josephine Frost-and that's where Bell, chief investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency, comes in.

Frost's violent-tempered husband has just killed her lover and tried to kill her, and he is bound to make another attempt. Bell has tangled with Harry Frost before; he knows that the man has made his millions leading gangs of thieves, murderers, and thugs in every city across the country. He also knows that Frost won't be only after his wife, but after Whiteway as well. And if Bell takes the case . . . Frost will be after him, too.
My Review:
​As with most books written by Clive Cussler, I never really knew I had an interest in planes and how they worked but I found myself very intrigued in the descriptions of the mechanics of the machines.

The plot follows the race set up by Preston Whiteway, who we have seen before, Marion works for him making moving pictures. Whiteway wants to create a central hub for his newspapers so he creates the cross country race for airplanes. He chose to have a plucky tom boy named Josephine Frost as  his sponsored underdog. 

However Josephine has a past. She is married to Henry Frost, a man who Issac Bell tried to get once before when he was an apprentice for the Van Dorn Detective Agency. But just before the race Frost shoots Marco Celere, Josephine's boyfriend and goes on the run. Because of this, Mr. Preston Whiteway hires almost the entirety of the Van Dorn Agency to protect the members of the race. Specifically Josephine.

This book was fairly interesting, I found the plot line sort of predicable but the details were cool. As I said above Clive Cussler really knows how to pay attention to detail. His individual knowledge was clear but I didn't feel like it was like to much exposition. However as I felt like it was really predictable and kinda just ended. I was not impressed with with the ending at all. It happened really fast and just felt really convenient to me.  

I would suggest this book to anyone who really likes the details of the planes or the time period. But again just ignore that plot and that ending. 

Thanks for checking in with me. Check back next Monday for A Court of Mist and Fury (Book #2 ACOTAR) By Sarah J. Maas
What did you think of this book?
Let me know on twitter @scripturienting
or on Facebook The Scripturient 101
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Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) By Amie Kaufman
Hardcover, 599 pages
4.5 Stars
Published October 20th 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers​
BookDepository | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | 
GoodReads Summary:
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more--Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

My Review:
So first thing first, my local library didn't have a copy of Illuminae, so I borrowed the audio book, but it is definitely one I want to actually read, because of its interesting format. But the version I listened to wasn't just one person reading to me, it had a full cast of voice actors. It was really fun to listen to all of the chaos and different layers of the book. I would definitely suggest it.

I would give this book a 4.5-star review. I thought it was really fascinating to listen to the different layers of the book using the different structures.  There were some points near the end that I felt it was sort of predictable but I never, never thought a robot would pull at my heart strings so much. This story engaged me from the very first scene. At times I felt like I was in a combination world of I am Legend and IRobot. 

I found it very easy to follow the story. The actual format of how the book was set up drew me in from the get-go. Clearly, everything that is happening is a report, so what happened why was this report so interesting? What was Kady and Ezra's key roles that made them so important? I personally really liked their relationship. I found it similar to a couple I am writing and "realistic" for long distance relationships. That is if you forget the fact that they were in space, running for their lives from an enemy spaceship that is.

This was the first Sci-fi book I have read in a while... I don't think I read any Sci-fi last year. So this was a good fantasy pallet cleanse for me. I a looking forward to the next book in the series Gemina. 

I think I would recommend this one to a friend for sure. I was listening to it constantly: As I cooked dinner, when I drove places, or before I went to bed. It was with me all the time. But that is just a plus side of audio books.  
Update:
I got a hold of the ebook and am reading it that way now too. I can see what everyone means about the format now! It is so cool! At times it is like a script, while others it is us diagrams like of the ships, and filmstrips with information. In some places there are even stamps that say classified across it. It really was a interesting and new way of reading. It was awesome! I get they hype! If you can you should definitely get your hands on this one.

What did you think of this book?
Let me know on twitter @scripturienting
or on Facebook The Scripturient 101
and Follow me on instagram @scripturient101 

Hello Bookworms,
January has passed clearly lol, we have made it into our first month of 2017 and this month has flown by for me. I am back at school now and am itching to read... just not the books I need to read for school.... oops. But I did get through several books. So how did I do on my list.... not great...
1. Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
2. The Inquasition by Taran Mathuru 
3. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
4. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
5. Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson

I did get through my first book on my list. The review of this one will be up in February. I didn't get through any of the others... mainly because the list of people waiting for it from the library was longer than I was at home. I am waiting on ebooks now so they are still on my list just shifted around a bit now that I have moved on through the month. Check back in next week for what is on my February TBR.

Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses Book #1)
By Sarah J. Maas
When I read this I went in blind, I knew relatively nothing about it, I just heard how amazing it was. I thought it was pretty good, until I heard that it was a Beauty and the Beast Retelling! Then oh baby oh, it got 10x better for me. It seems more like a romance set in a fantasy world then just straight up fantasy to me. But hey that isn't the worst thin in the world now is it?

Illuminae (Book #1 The Illuminae Files)
By Amie Kaufman
Rating:4.5
As I said in my review that came out Monday, this was my first Sci-Fi book in a really long time, it did not disappoint. With a very strong, okay a Bad-ass female protagonist named Kady, and a  broken Artificial Intelligence named AIDAN they clean up the mess left by higher ups. 
Review>

Witch and Wizard 
By James Patterson 
I did a reread of Witch and Wizard, I have reread the first few books a few times but never finished the series. I am hoping this time I will actually be able to finish the series. I have never felt like there was anything wrong with it, other things just come up first.
​

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
By Stieg Larsson
2 stars 
This book, so this book came out in 2008... I wouldn't say I have been trying to read it since then but I have tried to get through it several times.... I just don't think it is going to happen. I made it about 4 and a half hours into the audiobook and I don't really have an interest in following through to the end. So I think this one is going to have to go back onto the DNF pile where it came from.

The Race (​Issac Bells #4)
​By Clive Cussler
​It is 1910, the age of flying machines is still in its infancy, and newspaper publisher Preston Whiteway is offering $50,000 for the first daring aviator to cross America in less than fifty days. He is even sponsoring one of the prime candidates-an intrepid woman named Josephine Frost-and that's where Bell, chief investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency, comes in.

Frost's violent-tempered husband has just killed her lover and tried to kill her, and he is bound to make another attempt. Bell has tangled with Harry Frost before; he knows that the man has made his millions leading gangs of thieves, murderers, and thugs in every city across the country. He also knows that Frost won't be only after his wife, but after Whiteway as well. And if Bell takes the case . . . Frost will be after him, too.

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)
By Sarah J. Maas
​​Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.

With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.

A Court Of Thorns and Roses
​By Sarah J. Maas
Hardcover, 1st Edition, 416 pages
5 Stars
Published May 5th, 2015 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens​
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads
Goodreads Summary:
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. ​

My Review:
This book was amazing.
I have been hearing about this book for months, but couldn't get my hands on it at school (I need to fix this ASAP) but OMG. I started this out not really knowing much about besides that it was great. It wasn't until I was part of the way through and saw my friend Emily's review of it (you should totally check her out @paperbackthrills (Instagram) and paperbackthrills.tumblr.com) that I realized that it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Okay so I have book obsession, but I also have a Disney obsession.... I can name most Disney songs by the first few cords..... yeaaaa so long story short Belle is my favorite Disney princess.  

Freyre is such a wonderful strong character, who I have to admit at times I didn't like. They girl is just to stubborn at times, but when you look at her past, you see why she has put us such a stiff wall against her emotions. 

I thought Maas created a very interesting world, I would love to see her notes about the world. I haven't read many retellings, but I enjoyed the fact that if you knew the tale, you could see where Maas twisted the tale to fit her own. Lucien is my favorite, he is like the dorky sidekick, that really isn't all that dorky. 
This story was a book that pulled me in, and I felt things for, I didn't want to put it down. I may or may not have been yelled at because I sat in the same place for six hours... while my brother got me food and water. What can I say? I was comfy.
​
I am reading the second book now, and I can't wait to finish it and for the third book to come out! Court of Wings and Ruin Book #3 out May 2nd 2017

Happy Reading!
Katelyn Costello

The Spy by Clive Cussler
Hardcover, 436 pages
Audiobook 10 Hours
​5 Stars
Published June 1st 2010 by G.P.Putnam's Sons
It is 1908, and international tensions are mounting as the world plunges toward war. When a brilliant American battleship gun designer dies in a sensational apparent suicide, the man's grief-stricken daughter turns to the legendary Van Dorn Detective Agency to clear her father's name. Van Dorn puts his chief investigator on the case, and Isaac Bell soon realizes that the clues point not to suicide but to murder. And when more suspicious deaths follow, it becomes clear that someone-an elusive spy-is orchestrating the destruction of America's brightest technological minds... and the murders all connect to a top- secret project called Hull 44. 

But that is just the beginning. As the intrigue deepens, Bell will find himself pitted against German, Japanese, and British spies, in a mission that encompasses dreadnought battleships, Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet, Chinatown, Hell's Kitchen, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Isaac Bell has certainly faced perilous situations before, but this time it is more than the future of his country that's at stake- it's the fate of the world.
 
My Review
I loved this book, it was everything that I loved from a detective fiction. I read quite a bit of detective fiction, and a lot of Clive Cussler so at times I could guess where the story would go but I wasn't dissapointed by it. It is kinda a challege for me to figure it out. I'm just weird like that. 
This is a book that dabbles in gangs, a new interest for me. I never thought that gangs and mob politics would be interesting to me. Watching the groups working together and against each other, along with Bell was really cool. Any books you would suggest I would love. 
I really liked the pacing of this book, it felt fast but was not like I was rushed, I felt swept away by the story into the world of 1908 I loved the build up and the way that we found out who the people we wanted to  arrest with Bell was interesting, I found it kinda funny but also terrifying that they kept popping up. I was waiting for them to lash out. 
I did feel this book for me was more about the plot than the charecters. I really enjoyed the themes in this one. 
I definitly would recomend this book to a friend, but one who likes historical books, because like most of Clive Cusslers books, they can be "bogged down" with the history. I don't mind but I know people that really don't like his books because of it. 
What are you reading this week?
Shoot me a tweet at @scripturienting and let me know.
love ya,
​Kate

Hello Bookworms,
With the new year comes fresh starts and new books to read. January can be a fairly dreary month outside. Which makes it brilliant for reading! Here are some of the newest books coming out this January that you should get your hands on:

January 3rd
All Etta Spencer wanted was to make her violin debut when she was thrust into a treacherous world where the struggle for power could alter history. After losing the one thing that would have allowed her to protect the Timeline, and the one person worth fighting for, Etta awakens alone in an unknown place and time, exposed to the threat of the two groups who would rather see her dead than succeed. When help arrives, it comes from the last person Etta ever expected—Julian Ironwood, the Grand Master’s heir who has long been presumed dead, and whose dangerous alliance with a man from Etta’s past could put them both at risk. 

Meanwhile, Nicholas and Sophia are racing through time in order to locate Etta and the missing astrolabe with Ironwood travelers hot on their trail. They cross paths with a mercenary-for-hire, a cheeky girl named Li Min who quickly develops a flirtation with Sophia. But as the three of them attempt to evade their pursuers, Nicholas soon realizes that one of his companions may have ulterior motives. 

As Etta and Nicholas fight to make their way back to one another, from Imperial Russia to the Vatican catacombs, time is rapidly shifting and changing into something unrecognizable… and might just run out on both of them.

I have heard nothing but good things about this book. But as I havn't read Passengers yet I can't really say anything besides it is on my TBR list for 2017

The Chase (#1 Issac Bell)
Published November 6th 2007
Hardcover: 404 pages
Audio: 10 Hours
4 /5  Stars
Goodreads Summary:
For decades, Clive Cussler has been delighting readers with novels filled with suspense, action, and sheer audacity. Now he does it again, in one of the wildest, most entertaining historical thrillers in years. 

April 1950: The rusting hulk of a steam locomotive rises from the deep waters of a Montana lake. Inside is all that remains of three men who died forty-four years before. But it is not the engine or its grisly contents that interest the people watching nearby. It is what is about to come next . . . 

1906: For two years, the western states of America have been suffering an extraordinary crime spree: a string of bank robberies by a single man who cold- bloodedly murders any and all witnesses and then vanishes without a trace. Fed up by the depredations of the "Butcher Bandit," the U.S. government brings in the best man they can find-a tall, lean, no-nonsense detective named Isaac Bell, who has caught thieves and killers coast to coast. But Bell has never had a challenge like this one. From Arizona to Colorado to the streets of San Francisco during its calamitous earthquake and fire, he pursues what is quickly becoming clear to him is the sharpest criminal mind he has ever encountered, and the woman who seems to hold the key to the bandit's identity. 

Using science, deduction, and intuition, Bell repeatedly draws near only to grasp at thin air, but at least he knows his pursuit is having an effect. Because his quarry is getting angry now, and has turned the chase back on him. The hunter has become the hunted. And soon it will take all of Isaac Bell's skills not merely to prevail . . . but to survive.
 
My Review:
I picked up this series because I have always enjoyed Cussler's writings. At times I don't always understand quite what he is saying about the cars, trains, and boats he so loves, but he paints a picture that even the most uninclinded reader can understand. While this first book was alot of that I still enjoyed it. It helps me to know that he always is very throughough with his research and clearly has a passion for it all. 

I enjoyed this opening story, at times I felt like this was a later case and there should have been other books before it, but that was just because Cussler painted Bell as a very expierienced detective. The charecters are brilliant, in thier flaws and brain power. At times I felt Bell was a bit OP but not to the point where he was invincible. I appreciated that he was shot... sorry Issac. I really liked Issac's and Marrion's relationship. I felt at times that it was a littttlee rushed but now seeing their relationship grow in the later books I am more okay with it. 

I always enjoy Cussler's writting, because when I think I know what is going to happen he changes it up on me. I really enjoy that in a book. So I would have to say this one is a 4 out of 5 stars. It was a pretty good read.