TBR Planning: April 2016

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Choksi

Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds friendship and warmth.

But Akaran has its own secrets - thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran's magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar's plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk - it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.

Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.

This lovely fantasy was inspired by Indian mythology and sounds fantastic. From what the author has said on twitter to this synopsis to the early reviews already coming in, I think this is going to be a really original, vivid new fantasy.  

Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann -- I am both excited for and nervous about this one. I loved Heppermann's feminist fairytale poems, but verse novels have never worked for me in my any years of reading. Still, for this author I am more than willing to try.

Traitor Angels by Anne Blankman -- I love YA historical fiction and Anne Blankman is very good at it. This time around she is setting her story in England, under King Charles II and with the daughter of John Milton as the protagonist.

Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima -- I am half excited for this and half offended by its very existence. The series title is ominous (The Shattered Realms) and I KNOW there is now way Chima is going to let Han and Raisa be happy/happily married in these books. So. I want to read but I also am already side-eyeing it.


Saint's Blood by Sebastien de Castell (Greatcoats #3)

How do you kill a Saint?

Falcio, Kest, and Brasti are about to find out, because someone has figured out a way to do it and they've started with a friend.

The Dukes were already looking for ways out of their agreement to put Aline on the throne, but with the Saints turning up dead, rumours are spreading that the Gods themselves oppose her ascension. Now churches are looking to protect themselves by bringing back the military orders of religious soldiers, assassins, and (especially) Inquisitors - a move that could turn the country into a theocracy. The only way Falcio can put a stop to it is by finding the murderer. He has only one clue: a terrifying iron mask which makes the Saints vulnerable by driving them mad. But even if he can find the killer, he'll still have to face him in battle.

And that may be a duel that no swordsman, no matter how skilled, can hope to win.

Third in this ongoing fantasy series, I am veeeery eager to dive back in with these characters. I may have to reread books one and two, just for a fun refresher. There have been some issues with these books, but I still really like them --- and the UK covers :D