By Cynthia Ayala
Let’s try this again. Hello there avid readers! I am hailing you from new laptop 2.0. Here’s hoping this one will work long enough for me to edit my novel and do what I like to do most: write. But in the meantime, here’s my weekly reading list, because let’s face it, you can’t be an author if you don’t read, and boy, do I read.
Khosa is Given to the Sea, a girl born to be fed to the water, her flesh preventing a wave like the one that destroyed the Kingdom of Stille in days of old. But before she’s allowed to dance – an uncontrollable twitching of the limbs that will carry her to the shore in a frenzy – she must produce an heir. Yet the thought of human touch sends shudders down her spine that not even the sound of the tide can match.
Vincent is third in line to inherit his throne, royalty in a kingdom where the old linger and the young inherit only boredom. When Khosa arrives without an heir he knows his father will ensure she fulfills her duty, at whatever cost. Torn between protecting the throne he will someday fill, and the girl whose fate is tied to its very existence, Vincent’s loyalty is at odds with his heart.
Dara and Donil are the last of the Indiri, a native race whose dwindling m
agic grows weaker as the island country fades. Animals cease to bear young, creatures of the sea take to the land, and the Pietra – fierce fighters who destroyed the Indiri a generation before – are now marching from their stony shores for the twin’s adopted homeland, Stille.
Witt leads the Pietra, their army the only family he has ever known. The stone shores harbor a secret, a growing threat that will envelop the entire land – and he will conquer every speck of soil to ensure the survival of his people.
The tides are turning in Stille, where royals scheme, Pietrans march, and the rising sea calls for its Given.
2. Blood of the Cosmos (The Saga of Shadows #2)
“An epic space opera of the titanic conflict of several galactic civilizations against a life-destroying force of shadows, a dark cosmic force that has swept through the undercurrents of the human interstellar empire…
The intertwined plot, overflowing with colorful ideas, a large cast of characters, and complex storylines, spans dozens of solar systems, alien races, and strange creatures.
As the second book of the trilogy opens, the humans and Ildirans having narrowly escaped annihilation at the hands of the Shana Rei and their robot allies in Book One, are desperate to find a way to combat the black cloud of antimatter of the Shana Rei. The mysterious, alien Gardeners, who had helped them previously turn out to be a disaster in disguise and because of them, the world tree forests are again in danger. This opens up a second front in this galactic war. Believing they have found a way to stop their dreaded enemies, a new weapon is tested, but it’s a horrible failure, throwing the human race and its allies to the brink of extinction.”
3. Dream Dark (Beautiful Creatures 2,5)
by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
“When Link joined his best friend, Ethan Wate, on a quest through a mysterious network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, he knew the journey would be dangerous. But returning home to Gatlin, South Carolina was just the beginning…
Wounded during a climactic battle, Link discovers that tending his injuries won’t be as simple as visiting a doctor and that healing his arm should be the least of his worries. For being bitten by a Supernatural does more than break the skin — it changes a person, inside and out, turning Link into someone more and more like the dark creature who injured him.\
In this never-before-seen short story by New York Times bestselling authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, listeners witness Link’s heart-racing transformation. Dream Dark is set before the much-anticipated third Beautiful Creatures novel, Beautiful Chaos, and as a special bonus includes an exclusive sneak peek at the first five chapters.”
*Disclaimer: All synopsis are provided by Goodreads.