In the final Sentinels of the Galaxy book, we are reunited with Ara as she faces off with the alien and the looter enemies previously found in the first two novels. As things are looking dire, Ara is helped by none other than the Q-net itself as she explores and learns more about her capabilities with worming and how she can use the Q-net to help her crew stay alive.

Overall, this novel continued its consistency of having a familiar and amusing cast and an easy writing style that is digestible and generally fun to read. It was great to see Ara explore her new skills and maintain her stubbornness and tenacity during times of crises. Mental health somehow also seemed at the forefront of this book and I appreciate how emotional it made me as we see Ara’s parents and surrounding scientists believe her connection to the Q-net is a delusion. It was infuriating and slightly stressful to see Ara’s experiences almost belittled and I loved that this particular aspect of the book would greatly benefit young adults to believe in yourself and stand your ground. Although I’m personally not a huge fan of ‘chosen one’ tropes, it felt more realistic to be able to understand that, at almost 18, Ara still has many struggles as she tries to gain independence from her parents and be accepted as an adult.

Another consistent and enjoyable factor was the adorable romance that never overcompensated or took over the main plot. Niall is such a great supporting character and, he and his father are no doubt some of my favourite characters in the series too. In this last instalment, the stakes were much higher but the best thing about it was the fact that the villains were human and felt human too. There weren’t random motivations to destroy precious warrior artefacts but understandable, yet still horrible, reasons for what they were doing. I enjoyed learning more about the bad guys and seeing their motives, plus, understanding the bigger picture of how it all began. Plot-wise, I could never truly see what was coming ahead and that’s one of the best strengths of this series. Snyder manages to hook you in and barely hint at the future prospects for the plot, all the while including fun banter between the characters we’ve become accustomed to throughout the books.

Despite this series still being pretty fun for a YA sci-fi, this book did have its downfalls. For one, at 544 pages, this novel was the biggest out of this trilogy and you could feel it. The pacing wasn’t as rapid or easy to cruise through as the previous books, and in many places the plot seemed to drag as a way to amp up the stakes and the anxiety surrounding the situation. I feel like this could’ve easily been more succinct, with a shorter page count, to make this finale easier to read. Even without the heavy suspense, the villain situation was pretty dire and fast-paced without it. Another factor that I wasn’t a huge fan of, related to the ‘chosen one’ trope was that Ara’s connection with the Q-net made her so powerful that it felt a little surreal and despite these powers, she got injured a lot. Not that I’d expect a whole lot of realism from a fun YA sci-fi trilogy about shadow-blobs and murdering looters, but it felt like Ara was constantly injured or being treated for something and then was doing many dangerous things to save the world anyway. I shuddered at the thought of her running through debris and shooting enemies after just coming out of a coma.

Although this novel had its weaknesses, it did wrap up the series quite nicely. It was heartwarming, satisfying and was everything I hoped for in general. If you were a fan of the first two books, I’d still highly recommend giving this final book a read. It certainly was worth the wait to finally understand the bigger picture of how it all began in Book 1 and to see more of your favourite characters and the amusing banter consistent throughout the series.

Defending The Galaxy is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up Defending The Galaxy? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Year 2522. Oh. My. Stars.

Junior Officer Ara Lawrence here, reporting for duty. Again. It’s situation critical for the security team and everyone in the base – including my parents – with a new attack from the looters imminent, a possible galaxy-wide crime conspiracy and an unstoppable alien threat. But this all pales in the face of my mind-blowing discovery about the Q-net. Of course, no one believes me. I’m not sure I believe me. It could just be a stress-induced delusion. That’s what my parents seem to believe…

Their concern for me is hampering my ability to do my job. I know they love me, but with the Q-net in my corner, I’m the only one who can help the security team beat the shadowy aliens from the pits we discovered. We’re holding them at bay, for now, but the entire Milky Way Galaxy is in danger of being overrun.

With battles on too many fronts, it’s looking dire. But one thing I’ve learned is when people I love are in jeopardy, I’ll never give up trying to save them. Not until my dying breath. Which could very well be today…

The post Review: Defending The Galaxy by Maria V. Snyder appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In this sequel, Shyla barters with both the Invisible Sword, as well as the monks and the communes to help her protect the seemingly precious ‘Eyes of Tamburah’ from the likes of the Water Prince and the Heliacal Priestess.

This quest often leads to Shyla and her merry band of bandits to resort to mischievously use magic (of sorts) to hide from the Priestess’ Archdeacons as well as the overbearing Captain Yates. Each of these encounters were super fast paced, but it had plenty of detail which made the scene super three dimensional! Whilst a lot of fantasy books I’ve read of late heavily feature romance, I enjoyed that this one took a rather backseat approach, allowing for the action to drive the story forward, which felt like exactly what I wanted from this book. I loved how despite Rendor’s absence, Shyla could still be focused and carry on towards her goals, just as if he was right there. To me, this feels much more like a genuine relationship, and I’m keen to see if it develops in the final book in this trilogy.

What I loved about this sequel is that we got more page time for the monks, which helped make me understand a whole lot more about why they were keen to help Shyla, as well as exposing some of their somewhat well-kept secrets. I also really enjoyed seeing the relationship between Hanif and Shyla in a little more depth than in Tamburah, which I found was a really nice touch when the action appeared to not be there.

The tunnel that the Invisible Sword starts to dig really reminded me of the Indiana Jones movies, and I can’t understand why, but drawing that parallel is pretty cool given that tunnels often lead to uncovering big secrets. I loved how this goal to have a hidden base connected to Zirdai by tunnel appeared to strengthen the resolve of the group, despite every setback they encountered. Further to this, I loved seeing the character development of Jayden, Rendor (despite Rendor not getting much page time in the book), and many of the relatively minor characters, with many of them feeling totally fleshed out and not at all just there for the sake of being there. Also, I still dislike the Water Prince as he’s still a bit of a jerk, which isn’t so surprising given how he was in The Eyes of Tamburah!

The pace of this book felt just right for me, seemingly fast-paced enough to keep me absorbed in the action scenes, and slow enough in the parts meant for plot and character development. Whilst these weren’t in perfect halves, I enjoyed the changes in pace just as much as I loved seeing Shyla trudge on!

If you’re looking for a novel that is reminiscent of Tomb Raider with a dash of Indiana Jones mixed with underground sand cities and scorching heat, The Archives of the Invisible Sword series is likely to be right up your alley!

The City of Zirdai is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of June 1st 2021.

Will you be picking up The City of Zirdai? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

With her indomitable style, New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder returns with an electric new fantasy series that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Through her courage and tenacity, Shyla Sun-Kissed has awoken the power of The Eyes of Tamburah. But this feat only marks the beginning of the challenges that the magical order, the Invisible Sword, faces to free the underground city of Zirdai.

Though they have allies among the monks and splinter cells inside the city, Shyla knows the Invisible Sword doesn’t have the strength to win. With the group fracturing due to the strain of losses from their latest ordeal, thinly veiled suspicions and endless disagreements, it’s up to Shyla to forge a new united order.

When both the draconian Water Prince and brutal Heliacal Priestess learn of Shyla’s new powers, life becomes even more complicated as they will stop at nothing to capture Shyla and take the magic of The Eyes for themselves. Hunted at every turn and unable to hide, Shyla and the Invisible Sword must use every resource at their command – and unearth new ones – in their race to save the city from destruction. But their enemies always seem to be one step ahead. And the cost to win the battle may be more than Shyla would ever be willing to pay…

The post Review: The City of Zirdai by Maria V. Snyder appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

We are super excited to bring you another author Q&A with none other than Maria V Snyder! You might recognise her name from her first popular book series Poison Study. Today we are celebrating the recent release of her first sequel in the Sentinels of the Galaxy series. We really enjoyed the first book Navigating the Stars and we’re just as excited to continue onto the next chapter of Lyra’s journey.

Hi! How are you? How does it feel to have the next instalment of the Sentinels of the Galaxy to be out?

Hello! I’m doing well and very excited about the release of Chasing the Shadows. Although, I must admit there’s some anxiety as well. Since the first book, Navigating the Stars received such great reviews I don’t want to disappoint my readers.

Chasing the Shadows is, I believe, your 17th novel – which is amazing. Does it feel just as exciting to be publishing this series compared to your last?

Actually, it’s my 18th novel! And I’m amazed that I’ve written so many! Each new book’s release is just as exciting and nerve-wracking as the last one. It never feels routine and I always celebrate the day.

What inspired you when it came to creating this new sci-fi world and these wonderful characters?  

I visited Beijing, China way back in 2004 and learned about the first Emperor’s Terracotta Army while there. We didn’t have time to visit where the warriors were discovered, but years later an exhibition of them came to the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC and I saw them. I was fascinated by the fact they were built to protect the Emperor in the afterlife. My imagination kicked in as I thought about what the Emperor needed protection from–mostly likely demons–and what would happen if a warrior was destroyed. Perhaps a broken statue mean there was one less defender in the afterlife. An idea to write about a character in the afterlife, fighting demons in order to reach heaven sparked. Adding to the conflict was having defenders disappear as their terracotta statues were moved or destroyed by looters. This idea percolated in my head for years, but I couldn’t find the right…hook. Not until I sparked on the idea of having terracotta warriors discovered on other planets in our galaxy. Once I thought of that, lots of other elements came together. Having Lyra’s parents be the archaeological experts of these warriors was a natural choice, and the other characters arrived as needed for the story.

I personally loved all the different Asian-inspired elements such as the warriors, did you travel to any Asian countries as part of your research?

My visit to China in 2004 gave me an appreciation of the Chinese people and culture. Their myths and history are quite fascinating, and the sheer size of the Terracotta Army is just amazing. I saw the warriors in DC and then again when the exhibition came to Philadelphia in 2017. I read a bunch of books on the army and watched a few documentaries about them. And I’ve just returned from another trip to China! This time we visited the archaeological site in Xi’an, China and I saw the warriors where they were originally buried. It’s a massive site that is still being uncovered. It was my favorite stop on our trip!.

Lyra is such a strong character and was a joy to read, but out of the full cast of characters, would you be able to pick a favourite that resonated the most to you? 

I was surprised by how much I liked Officer Tace Radcliff. He was just going to be an antagonist–a grumpy voice of authority to add more conflict in Lyra’s life. But he developed into a complex character and I found I really enjoyed writing the scenes with him and Officer Morgan. She’s a nice counterpoint to him. Also Captain Harrison leapt off the page and that was unexpected. Even though they weren’t a big part of the story, he and his bridge crew really came to life.

My absolute favourite part of the whole world-building was the technology and the concept of worming that Lyra is so good at. What did you have in mind when creating such an advanced system of technology, not really seen in YA Sci-Fi before?

I was trying to imagine the next step in our technology. We have the internet and how it allows us to connect with everyone worldwide. Our computing power is increasing and I just envisioned this vast network that expanded beyond our world – more galaxy sized, yet the internal workings are on a lightening fast quantum scale. This combination gives them more computing power and enabled the scientists to build spaceships and to crinkle space for faster travel. It also allows communications to be almost instant.

Off the top of your head, what are your top 5 tips to aspiring writers?

1 – Read widely in the genre you are writing.

2 – Write, write, and write some more. The more you write, the better you’ll get.

3 – Finish that first draft! Don’t be tempted to stop after a few chapters to revise or to start something new. Get the book done, you can revise once it’s finished.

4 – Get feedback from other writers. While it’s tempting to have a close friend or family member provide feedback for your book, they don’t have the necessary skills to give you a good and honest critique.

5 – Don’t give up. Writing is hard and getting a book published is even harder. Don’t let a few rejections stop you. Persistence is key!

After writing so many books, would you say you’ve managed to achieve a good work life balance? Do you have a writing routine you can share?

It took me a number of years, but I’ve found a routine that has worked for me. Ideally my day follows this pattern: I start writing around 10 p.m. and work until 3 a.m. I read for an hour and go to bed at 4 a.m. I wake up around noon and spend the afternoon working on the business side of writing–answering emails, posting on social media, marketing, running errands. I stop around 5 p.m. to have dinner with my husband and I take the rest of the evening off (until 10 p.m.). My days don’t always work out that way, but that’s my goal. I do take Saturdays off–no writing, no marketing, etc…

This novel was such a fun read and action-packed but what is the number one thing you would say you’d want readers to take away from it?

In Navigating the Stars, Niall tells Lyra that she refuses to be ignored. And I think that’s what these books are showing. That you should speak up and express an opinion even if no one asked you. To not be silent because you’re afraid or uncertain of the response. These days in the USA, it’s becoming more important for teenagers and young adults to speak up – there’s a slogan, “if you see something, say something.” That’s what I want readers to take away – to refuse to be ignored.

Lastly, what can we expect from you next?

The City of Zirdai, Book 2 in my Archives of the Invisible Sword series is coming out in Australia in June of 2020, and Defending the Galaxy, the third and last book of my Sentinels of the Galaxy series is coming out worldwide in November 2020.

Thanks so much for inviting me onto the Nerd Daily!

Do you have a favourite book by Maria V. Snyder? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Maria V. Snyder, Author of ‘Chasing the Shadows’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

I have been a fan of Maria’s work for some time. All of her books are great but I have to admit, this is a personal favourite and it has earned a special place in my “book loves of 2019” shelf. From the very start of the book, I was hooked! Maria writes so well and she has a unique talent of creating new worlds and characters in her books. The setting of this book reminded me of an amazing TV documentary called “Cities of the Underworld”, a show that takes us on a journey back in time to the ancient cities in the Middle East and the Cradle of Civilisation that have since been built up over time. In this case, The Eyes of Tamburah introduces us to the world of Koraha, a fiercely hot and unforgiving desert world. A world so hot, the people of the land are forced to live below ground due to the intensity of the desert heat and the sun above. The underground city is ruled by a wealthy Water Prince and brutal Heliacal Priestess. Similar to her book Inside Out where characters move through pipes, the characters in this book travel up and down to simply move about through the underground desert city. What made this setting so interesting was how treacherous each level was depending on how high or how low one travelled.

Our protagonist is Shyla and I have to say, I really liked her – although Shyla is “sun-kissed” (an outcast, considered cursed by the Sun Goddess) she is renowned for uncovering innumerable archaic facts, lost artefacts, ancient maps, and obscure historical documents. I enjoyed her as a character due to her strength. She was a strong yet flawed character with undying loyalty, which was her motivation to set out on a perilous journey in the beginning. I was also mesmerised with her unique ability to read maps and stone tablets and I felt for her when her quiet life was dramatically interrupted when she was enlisted to find The Eyes of Tamburah –  the legendary gemstones that bestows great magic to its wielder. These ancient objects can tip the balance of power and give whoever possesses them complete control of the city but chaos erupts when The Eyes got stolen and Shyla is blamed for the theft.

Shyla’s endurance and her strength made her a likeable character in my view. She was never afraid to admit vulnerability whilst adamant to fulfil her quest. Her will to continue even after torturous pain was equally impressive. The connections she establishes between two key characters of the story Rendor, the Water Prince’s commander who is given the task of tracking Shyla and her progress in finding the stolen eyes of Tamburah and Banqui, her friend and employer whose relationship with Shyla is an interesting one. Both of these characters were very well defined and yes I believe Rendor is now my new book boyfriend – something about guys who exude authority yet have a romantic streak.

Personally, I loved the structure of the book. An enriching mix of fantasy, adventure, suspense with a touch of romance filled with witty dialogue that made it very easy for me to grasp the new world and terminology. World building can be a complex endeavour, especially one as original as this one, but the way Maria structured the dialogue, it really engaged me. The fast-paced plot made it almost impossible to put down. I also found her use of referencing time through angles and sun-jumps pretty cool. I noticed this book gets pitched as Poison Study meets Tomb Raider but I found some of the scenes reminded me more of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom which made it even more exciting to read.

I feel this book really stands out from the other series I have read by Maria V. Snyder as I adore books that have an easy flow to read with an have an Arabian desert feel to it. I really enjoyed the plot, the action, the suspense and the characters. The setting is really one I can connect with and I am really looking forward to the next instalment of this amazing series. I am invested!

Special thanks to Harlequin Books Publishers for sending me the Advanced Review Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Eyes of Tamburah is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.

Will you be reading The Eyes of Tamburah? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Treasure hunting has never been more dangerous… Tomb Raidermeets Poison Study!

New York Times bestselling author Maria Snyder begins an action-packed new fantasy series.

‘He thinks you are the thief…’

Shyla is a researcher who resides in the underground desert city of Zirdai, which is ruled by the wealthy Water Prince and brutal Heliacal Priestess. Even though Shyla is sun-kissed – an outcast, considered cursed by the Sun Goddess – she is still renowned for uncovering innumerable archaic facts, lost artefacts, ancient maps, and obscure historical documents. Her quiet life is about to change when Banqui, an archaeologist, enlists her services to find The Eyes of Tamburah: legendary gemstones that bestows great magic to its wielder. These ancient objects can tip the balance of power and give whoever possesses them complete control of the city.

But chaos erupts when The Eyes are stolen soon after they’re found – and Shyla is blamed for the theft. Forced to flee, with the Prince’s soldiers and the Priestess’ deacons on her trail, Shyla must recover the jewels and clear her name. A quest that will unearth secrets even more valuable than The Eyes of Tamburah themselves…

The post Review: The Eyes of Tamburah by Maria V. Snyder appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

This novel was so enjoyable and even better than first expected. You may know Maria V Snyder for her Poison Study series, well this complex YA sci-fi knocks it out of the ball park.

World Building & Plot

I personally love a good sci-fi read and as a bit of science nerd who knows probably 2% about science and space, this book was truly a fun learning experience even though the science was heavily intertwined with fiction. One of the things that can be quite confusing in this novel is the concept of time in space and it forms a huge aspect of the story. While it can be a little confusing to fully understand it at the start, the concept in this novel is ingenious.

Basically, when you’re going to a planet, it takes, let’s say, 60 days to get there, so once you get there it’s been 60 days and you’re 60 days older. However, because they haven’t invented the technology for it yet, even though it might’ve taken you 60 days to get there, 40 years have actually lapsed in the planet you just left. Therefore, once you arrive at this new planet, everyone you knew at your old planet is 40 years older. It’s not just a little crazy, it’s crazy crazy!

The way Maria wrote this concept might’ve been confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty amazing. Her world building and the plot is very solid as we are introduced to Lyra, the protagonist whom we already read the point of view from throughout the whole book. She’s been travelling from planet to planet numerous times because her parents are archaeologists researching terracotta warriors that have somehow appeared across a lot of various planets, even though they’re from an ancient Chinese dynasty (like the warriors that protect that famous Emperor in real life). The big mystery of their work is to find out what brought these warriors there and how did they do it?

Since Lyra has travelled so many times, she understands and grasps the concept of living on a ship and at a research base for a long time (especially the whole leaving friends behind kind of thing), and Maria’s descriptions of life there is so interesting. Especially soc-time; the mandatory 2-hour socialisation session all kids up to the age of 18 must have. I won’t say anymore to avoid spoilers but I personally really enjoyed how she set the world-building and the story and it was just so succinct.

The plot was great overall. Many times the action was bewildering and it felt so real and had me on edge. It reminded me a lot of Illuminae in how the action was depicted and it gave me goosebumps at times. Another thing that was very enjoyable was the huge Asian representation. The main character, Lyra, is mixed Asian and because of those cool Chinese terracotta warriors, all the planets where they were found have Chinese names. Yes, I may have skimmed them all because I cannot read Chinese or Pinying but points for effort. This hit so close to home because as an Asian girl, it’s cool to read more about Asian things sometimes in YA books. I’ve never felt this connected and grateful to diversity in YA.

Characters 

Lyra was a likeable character, she had a funny kind of snark and was pretty sarcastic. It was great reading the way her relationships with the other characters including her parents were described and developed. Her worming ability is another cool similarity to Kady’s hacking in Illuminae, and the introduction of worming and the Q-net was well written as well. The love interest, whatshisname, was also an interesting character that was originally the stereotypical brooding boy but turned into quite a realistic character. It was so great seeing them as they started to like each other cause I’m a sucker for the hate to love trope.

This book also featured some great parents. Although they spend so much of their time working (and what other readers might say it another trope of the absent parents in YA), they were sweet and so caring. The other side characters were also pretty great, amusing and had more depth than expected.

Writing

While most of the book was very well written, the writing is unfortunately the only minor downfall. The copy I was provided was an advanced one so it’s less likely that there would’ve been any major changes in certain written parts which in unfortunate since there were some parts of the book that had me cringe a little. Not because of what was happening but because sometimes, the anecdotal writing style just didn’t fit.

Reading Lyra’s point of view was fine for most of the book but when she sometimes seems to be talking to the reader specifically or to her “diary” as you might call this writing style, it didn’t always fit so well for the context of the situation. It’s evident what Maria was going for in creating a connection with the reader and getting some more humour in there, but personally, I didn’t particularly enjoy those tiny bits. Other than that, the writing was awesome. The dialogue and the flow of the writing was lovely and it honestly leaves you wanting to read more and more.

Overall

This was a great read that was super enjoyable. It had action, romance, science-y stuff, and Asian representation to its core. We’re definitely excited for the next book because that ending will leave you wanting more. The plot twists, the action, the suspense, this book is highly recommended to any YA sci-fi lovers.

A big thank you to HarperCollins Australia and Harlequin Teen Australia for kindly sending The Nerd Daily the review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Navigating The Stars is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.

Have you read Navigating The Stars? Or will you be checking it out? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Navigating the Stars is the first book in a new science fiction series.

Terra Cotta Warriors have been discovered on other planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. And Lyra Daniels’ parents are the archaeological Experts (yes with a capital E) on the Warriors and have dragged her to the various planets to study them despite the time dilation causing havoc with her social life.

When one of the many Warrior planets goes silent, and looters attack her research base, Lyra becomes involved in discovering why the Warriors were placed on these planets. And, more importantly, by who.

The post Review: Navigating The Stars by Maria V Snyder appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below if you will be checking any of these out!

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A nobleman’s daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri’s captivating, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy perfect for readers of City of Brass and The Wrath & the Dawn.

Toxic by Lydia Kang
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Cyclo, the first and largest biological ship of its kind, is dying. A small crew of mercenaries have handed over the rights to their life to document the death of the ship, but the abandoned ship is anything but abandoned—one girl has been left behind. Hana has known nothing but the isolation of a single room and the secret that has kept her there for seventeen years. When she meets Fennec, the boy assigned to watch her, she realizes that there is a world she has yet to experience but she is doomed to never meet.

Breach by W.L. Goodwater
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

When Soviet magicians conjured an arcane Wall to blockade occupied Berlin, the world was outraged but let it stand for the sake of peace. Now after 10 years of fighting with spies instead of spells, the CIA has discovered the wall is failing. Operatives from East and West converge on the most dangerous city in the world to stop or take advantage of the crisis. Karen, a young magician with the American Office of Magical Research and Deployment, is sent to investigate the breach in the Wall and see if it can be reversed. Instead she will discover that the truth is elusive in this divided city, and that even magic itself has its own agenda.

How To Fracture A Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Fantasy legend Jane Yolen presents a wide-ranging offering of fractured fairy tales. Yolen fractures the classics to reveal their crystalline secrets, holding them to the light and presenting them entirely transformed; where a spinner of straw into gold becomes a money-changer and the big bad wolf retires to a nursing home. Rediscover the tales you once knew, rewritten and refined for the world we now live in―or a much better version of it.

The Blue Salt Road by Joanne Harris
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

So begins a stunning tale of love, loss and revenge, against a powerful backdrop of adventure on the high seas, and drama on the land. The Blue Salt Road balances passion and loss, love and violence and draws on nature and folklore to weave a stunning modern mythology around a nameless, wild young man.

Hazards of Time Travel by Joyce Carol Oates
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

An ingenious, dystopian novel of one young woman’s resistance against the constraints of an oppressive society. Arresting and visionary, Hazards of Time Travel  is both a novel of harrowing discovery and an exquisitely wrought love story that may be Joyce Carol Oates’s most unexpected novel so far.

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This fairy tale retelling lives in a mystical world inspired by the Far East, where the Dragon Lord and the Serpent God battle for control of the earthly realm; it is here that the flawed heroine of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns finally meets her match. An epic fantasy finale to the Rise of the Empress novels.

The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The fifth title in Genevieve Cogman’s witty and wonderful Invisible Library series, The Mortal Word is a rollicking literary adventure. Peace talks are always tricky, especially when a key diplomat gets stabbed. This rudely interrupts a top-secret summit between the warring dragons and Fae. As a neutral party, Librarian-spy Irene is summoned to investigate. She must head to a version of 1890s Paris, with her assistant Kai and her detective friend Vale, where these talks are fracturing. Here, she must get to the bottom of the attack – before either the peace negotiations or the city go up in flames.

City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Five hundred years ago, magi created a weapon they couldn’t control. An infestation that ate magic—and anything else it came into contact with. Enemies and allies were equally filling. Only an elite team of non-magical humans, known as sweepers, can defuse and dispose of infestations before they spread. Most die before they finish training. Laura, a new team member, has stayed alive longer than most. Now, she’s the last—and only—sweeper standing between the city and a massive infestation.

Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Join Peter Grant, detective and apprentice wizard, for a brand new case . . . Martin Chorley, aka the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud, and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run. Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice. But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long term plan. A plan that has its roots in London’s two thousand bloody years of history, and could literally bring the city to its knees.

Navigating The Stars by Maria V. Snyder
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Terra Cotta Warriors have been discovered on other planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. And Lyra Daniels’ parents are the archaeological Experts (yes with a capital E) on the Warriors and have dragged her to the various planets to study them despite the time dilation causing havoc with her social life. When one of the many Warrior planets goes silent, and looters attack her research base, Lyra becomes involved in discovering why the Warriors were placed on these planets. And, more importantly, by who.

Outrun The Wind by Elizabeth Tammi
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Huntresses of Artemis must obey two rules: never disobey the goddess, and never fall in love. After being rescued from a harrowing life as an Oracle of Delphi, Kahina is glad to be a part of the Hunt; living among a group of female warriors gives her a chance to reclaim her strength, even while her prophetic powers linger. But when a routine mission goes awry, Kahina breaks the first rule in order to save the legendary huntress Atalanta.

The post November Book Releases: Fantasy + Sci-Fi appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

The category that is young adult is filled with so many different types of books and genres that nowadays it can be a bit tricky to find what to read since there are so many options. However, like most things, there are certain styles and genres that create a trend.

Many trends have emerged to worldwide acclaim this century and are part of (now) adults’ teenage reading favourites, including my own. Trends peak and fade with time and interest by readers and many new ones emerge every year, so let’s go down memory lane and see the biggest trends in the last decade or so, as well as the current trends and predictions for 2018 and beyond!

The Paranormal Band: Vampires, Werewolves & Witches

It would be an understatement to say that the paranormal trend took to young adults (and adults!) by storm. It was so hugely popular especially with the fast development of social media that it began a domino effect and crossover into Hollywood as YA book to movie adaptations smashed box offices around the world. Many consider Twilight as the pivotal origin of the paranormal hype as sparkling vampires became famous. More and more successful novels and series such as Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, The Southern Vampire Mysteries (True Blood), and House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, were consequently eaten up by readers, some adapted in movies and many remain current favourites for readers. This trend didn’t only apply to vampires but also to witches (Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia), ghosts (Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake) and werewolves (Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater).

Angels and Demons

There’s nothing more attractive to teen girls than the heavenly dream of finding the perfect boyfriend that is literally an angel or at least angel related, despite all the angst and probable family issues it brings. Angels and Demons was another huge trend, as a subcategory of the paranormal and fantasy genres. Angels were all the rage, with the building of backstories, describing those beautiful wings and the challenges of falling in love with an angel – an angel who might’ve literally fallen out of heaven and fallen for you too. Demons played their part too of course, and some might say the mixed elements of angel and demon drama in The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare and the entire Shadowhunter Chronicles it triggered is what continues to make it the most successful angel themed YA book series to date.

A Recipe for a Utopia with a Dash of Science Fiction

Dystopian and science fiction was another massively successful trend that created many book to movie adaptations and loyal fandoms worldwide. The concept of different worlds and societies in the future gone wrong was fresh and thought-provoking for young adults. It sparked discussion on themes of identity, society, class, politics, power and different versions of reality in a unique way. It even had teenagers taking personality tests for which faction you’d be in (Divergent by Veronica Roth). The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the obvious game-changing novel that began this trend with many more that preceded it like Matched by Ally Condie adding to the fuel.

Fantastic Female Fronted High Fantasy

Any current YA reader would have heard of Sarah J Maas at least once, since her Throne of Glass series was among the great number of amazing female fronted high fantasy series to influence YA books in the last few years. These fantasy books are packed with action, intricate world-building, a bit of romance here and there, and a wide cast of characters to choose your favourite from. The protagonists aren’t delicate ladies either but are strong women who won’t back down or give up the fight and inspire other young women everywhere. Not only do these high fantasy books create an addiction for more but they have also popularised sub-genres of faeries, assassins and dragons which are all current trends of today. These high fantasy books had so much imagination to offer and are still cult favourites in the YA high fantasy genre since they brought so much to love. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder brought gorgeous magic, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir and Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard brought spies in disguise and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo brought the most badass villain who likes to wear black. It is no wonder that this started a trend and is still successful to this day.

Retold Again and Again

Retellings have also become a trend in the last few years, with many more reaching beyond the usual Grimm Brothers fairy tales. While books based on these tales like Cinder by Marissa Meyer and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, inspired by Cinderella and Beauty & The Beast respectively, are still extremely popular, there has been a great turnaround for alternatives. A unique and well-loved series by Rick Riordan is of course Percy Jackson & The Olympians series, which is based on Greek mythology. Other alternative inspiring retellings are The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, a retelling of the Arabian Nights and Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff which is a retelling of Japanese mythology. These books have become quite popular and trending with readers because the innovation of having the same story retold in a different and new way that is fresh and well executed is very appealing. Let’s hope this trend doesn’t die out too fast and continues its minor reign within YA fantasy books.

The Diversity Movement

Diversity has become a huge issue with readers and within the publishing community as more people demanded and expressed their need for equal and widespread representations. Race, sexuality, disabilities and gender themes have been some of the issues young adults have been craving to read in YA Fiction so they can relate what they’re reading to who they are and their everyday lives. The huge push by readers for more diversity has been a slow and successful ongoing trend that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon and sure has gotten some incredible diverse novels out there for us to enjoy.

YA Trend Predictions for 2018

So, these are some of the trends that have occurred in the last decade, but what about what’s happening now? Currently many of the trends below are predicted to make it big and rise in popularity. The success of certain novels in these genres in the last year shows how future books in those same categories can truly boom.

Thrillers & Whodunnits

Novels like One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus and Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco in the last year has shown how powerful and addictive thrillers and mysteries can be, and this genre really seems like it’s about to take off especially because of the second rise in popularity of the book to TV adaptation of 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

2018 Book Recommendations:

• All of This is True by Lygia Day Penaflor
  Four teenagers obsessed with a novel called Undertow make a plan to befriend its author Fatima Ro, and they can’t believe their luck when she lets them into her life. Until they are shocked to discover that Fatima’s latest book unveils all their secrets and revelations with devastating effects.
• The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas
  After the multiple consecutive deaths of cheerleaders, Sunnybrook High disbands its cheer squad. Yet 5 years later it seems that there is more to it and something is still going on as Monica, the sister of the last cheerleader killed, unravels secrets and suspicious activity. Some people in Sunnybrook may be hiding more than they’re willing to admit, and even though there are no more cheerleaders, it doesn’t mean everyone is safe.

Hi-Tech Worlds & Games

With the massive fandoms and widespread love for gaming, social media and new technology in this era, it makes sense that young adults would embrace these high tech sci-fi books that show the potential technology may have one day in the future. The thought of spaceships and virtual reality gaming The Illuminae Files by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman and Warcross by Marie Lu have brought in the last year are pretty mind-blowing and interesting to read about. It seems logical that this YA genre and its themes will remain consistent in 2018.

2018 Book Recommendations:

• The Leveller by Julia Durango
  Nixy Bauer is a bounty hunter with the task of taking kids back to their parents in the real world from their virtual reality gaming world. However when the game’s rich developper loses track of his own kid, Nixy has the biggest challenge of her life finding him especially when it seems that he wasn’t trying to hide but is being held captive against his will within the game.
• Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston
  A space action-packed Anastasia retelling, this fun sci-fi novel depicts a girl named Ana, who was found aboard a pod with no recollection of her past. Desperate to help fix the android named D09 who was aboard with her, she tries to find the coordinates to the lost ship that may hold all her answers. Until a spoiled Ironblood boy beats her to it, yet events unfold that have them both running for their lives, marked as fugitives, and not everyone wants to capture them alive.

Shock! Horror!

Horror has always be a favourite genre for many people in fiction, however for young adult fiction it can be quite rare. Not all young people tend to want to be scared, however this genre might just be on the rise. With the popularity of Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco (Sequel to Stalking Jack the Ripper) and recent release The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert, many more older young adults may lean more towards this direction.

2018 Book Recommendations:

• Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
  The sequel to the its predecessor Scythe, Thunderhead follows the adventures, deadly tasks and dilemmas its protagonists must endure following the last event of Scythe. Scythe introduces a dystopia far in the future where humans are no longer affected by age, disease or war. Now scythes are the only ones who can and will end life to manage the world’s constant growing population. Rowan and Citra are two teenagers unwillingly chosen to apprentice for a Scythe. They must master the art of killing yet they must also understand learning the consequences of failing to take a life, as it may take their own.
• Contagion by Erin Bowman
  An urgent SOS is sent from a distant planet. A small crew is dispatched for search and rescue yet what they find is something best left uncovered as they try to piece together who or what decimated a whole operation on this planet.

For Realz

As mentioned above, the explosion of diversity in YA literature has created so many more representations and opportunities of expression. The diversity movement has also helped create another subgenre of Realistic Fiction. This genre is basically fiction that describes real life issues of today, more serious points of discussion everyone should be exposed to regardless of what format they’re influenced by including books. This subgenre is great and it seems like a major theme in 2018 for YA contemporaries and fantasies as well. There’s hope that more novels with themes such as mental illness, race, lgbtqia+, the effect of terrorism as well as teen depression and suicide are well read by teens to engage in discussion about important social and life issues we may all face.

2018 Book Recommendations:

• Not if I Save You First by Ally Carter
  Maddie’s best friend Logan is the President’s son, while her dad is a secret service agent. Unfortunately, life gets in the way and forces her to be dragged to the middle of nowhere in Alaska where she gets not word from Logan. Then he shows up, 6 years later, and an assailant gets in the way of Maddie killing him herself and she really wants to.
• The Place Between Breaths by An Na
  Grace is in a race against time and she doesn’t even know it. When her mother flees in fear of hurting their family due to the schizophrenia she’s been struggling with for years, her dad’s schizophrenia research continues in full force. Grace does her part by interning there, and they find what might be a breakthrough, but Grace starts to unravel and starts to question what’s real and what isn’t. Is her discovery real or a side effect of schizophrenia taking hold?

Under the Sea

While many mermaid novels and series have come out in the past decade such as Of Poseidon by Anna Banks, there hasn’t been a whole lotta love for them but there may be a change in the air. These book recommendations below could mean a massive turnaround for mermaid to come in the future.

2018 Book Recommendations:

• To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
  Princess Lira is a lethal siren royal, known for bringing prince’s hearts home to her collection until she’s forced to kill one of their own. As punishment, she’s made a human and has a year to bring home the heart of Prince Elian, a prince who’s siren killing hobby is peaked when a drowning woman he saves promises him the key to wiping out all sirenkind.
• Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
  Evie has become an outcast witch ever since her best friend Anna drowned, yet she’s convinced Anna survived as she meets another girl with limited time on land who resembles Anna. However, she’s got secrets of her own and Evie will try anything to keep her humanity as well as a prince’s heart with her magic until she discovers too late, the truth of the bargain she made.

Do you know any of these iconic novels and series in these older trends? What do you think of these trend predictions for 2018? Let us know in the comments!

The post YA Book Trend Report & The Trends of 2018 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Are you looking for new books to read in 2018? Or looking for a reading challenge? Well in case you missed it, join the The Nerd Daily’s 2018 Reading Challenge! It has 52 prompts to guide you to read one book per week, or to just read outside your comfort zone. To help you decide, we decided to put up some book recommendations for you. This recommendations consist of mixed audiences, from middle grade to adult and to different genres!

Read on to discover a few books to help you with some of our challenges!

1. Under 200 Pages: Novellas are great pick for this category or Tor short stories. I highly recommend The Night Cyclist and The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Djinn!
2. New York Times Bestseller: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has generated a lot of buzz last year and it debuted on New York Times Bestseller list! Plus it’s being adapted into a film!
3. Author Starting With T: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien is a classic or if you’ve read that, try the other fantastic books by Tolkien.
4. 2018 Film Adaptation: The adaptation of Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli is scheduled to be released in March 2018, so go read it before (or after) the movie comes out!
5. Older Than 20 Years: If you haven’t started the Harry Potter series, this year is the right time! This year will mark 20 years since the release of Chamber of Secrets, the second book in the series, and the 21st of Sorcerer’s Stone, the first book. Two birds with one stone right?

6. Villain/Anti-hero: Vicious by V.E Schwab is one of my favourite books and with the main character an anti-hero, it creates a fascinating narrative around the term heroes and villains.
7. Reread a favourite: Self-explanatory prompts here, this year I want to re-read Harry Potter so any books could fit this prompt.
8. Goodreads Choice Winner: You can look for inspiration here, but I highly recommend The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This nonfiction chronicles the origin of HeLa cells that helps founding a lot of medicine and the aftermath. The writing is very easy to read and fits everyone, so go give this book a try!
9. Written By Two Authors: Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman is one of the most hyped up books in the YA community. This book chronicles the space survival of Kady and her planet’s people from invasion and evil AI, told through journals and other things.
10. Time Travel: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon may be intimidating due to its size, but it’s pretty easy to read and the story is a page-turner!
11. Male Author: Any of Neil Gaiman’s books because he is such a fantastic writer so if you haven’t read any of his books, he’s perfect for this category. Plus I highly recommend The Graveyard Book.

12. Young Adult Novel: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins is such a fun series, filled with witty banter, cotillion, and a lot of ass-kicking.
13. A Number In The Title: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo follows a band of anti-heroes consisting of 6 thieves and convicts trying to pull off an impossible heist.
14. Start A New Series: Any series you want to start but never do? This prompt is the perfect motivation for you! I personally want to start Poison Study series by Maria V. Snyder.
15. An Autobiography: The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher is perfect for anyone whether they love Star Wars or not.
16. Short Stories: Anthologies have been gaining traction recently with a lot of authors releasing some sort of anthologies. One of the most well-known is My True Love Gave to Me, which is a Christmas anthology, or its summer counterpart, Summer Days and Summer Nights.

17. Recommended By Family: My family is not a huge reader, so it’s hard to get a recommendation from them. But my sister highly recommended The School of Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani, which is a middle grade book sets in a school that trains its pupil to become either heroes or villains.
18. A Red Cover: Scythe by Neil Shusterman is another series I want to start this year and it has gained a lot of hype. This book tells the story of a modern-day grim reaper working for the government to keep the population under control.
19. Set In The Past: Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco follows the Jack the Ripper murder with our heroine Audrey as she breaks social constraints and try to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper.
20. A Book You Never Finished: I picked up Heidi by Johanna Spyri, but after a few pages never continue reading it. Another self-explanatory prompt, all you need to do is try to find a book you put on hold or DNF before!
21. Sci-Fi: Sci-fi is not a genre I reach for often, but a lot of people like The Martian by Andy Weir and it also has been adapted to movie, so it seems like an appropriate read.

22. Three Word Title: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is unusual and captivating, and the title definitely makes sense after you finish the book and find yourself blown away by it!
23. Recommended By Us: Take a look at literature of the world articles, including Jamaica which highlights authors and characters from Jamaica.
24. About Family: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan is filled with crazy antics of the Singapore richest, but at the heart of the book, it’s about family relationships between Rachel and her mother, as well as the Young clan.
25. Female Author: The Secret History by Donna Tartt has been praised at how atmospheric and fascinating the characters are.
26. Bought During A Holiday: I don’t know about you, but I always bought a lot of books during the holiday season due to the abundance of book sales happening. One of the books I bought was A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi.

Any recommendations you like the sound of? Tell us in the comments below!

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