The Next Five (#4)

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Here are the next five books that I'll be reading. Hopefully I'll be able to read faster than usual thanks to audiobooks! With work, finding time for me to read is a bit difficult. All of these books will be rated on a 5-scale rating system when I finish them. If you've read any of the books that I've mentioned, let me know what you've thought of them! No spoilers please :) Here are my thoughts of the books while I read their descriptions. All of the descriptions are taken from Goodreads. 

1. Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…and secrets hide in every shadow.

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, Enne has only one lead: the name Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems. 

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless Mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play.

Hmm... this might be the first book that I've read about gambling. I recently finished watching Kakegurui which is about gambling as well. I'm curious to see how this book will incorporate poker faces, intelligence, and skill without a visual aspect. Will we get to see how Enne copes with getting her hands dirty? Fun fact: I don't know how to play poker, blackjack, or any type of gambling card game.

2. Ash Princess by Lauren Sebastian 

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia's family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess--a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.

For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She's endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.

Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn't always won on the battlefield.

For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.

Phew... what a name. Theodosia. Since her mother was the Fire Queen, does that mean she has fire powers????!! I know it says that she is powerless, but is that powerless as in she doesn't control fire? Or she is simply weak? Apparently, she is insanely smart, so we'll see what she'll do. I think out of the five books; this book is the most hyped. I love the cover. Reminds me of the Red Queen series. 

3. Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones 

The last night of the year. Now the days of winter begin and the Goblin King rides abroad, searching for his bride....

All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They've enraptured her mind and spirit and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen and helping to run her family’s inn, Liesel can't help but feel that her musical dreams and childhood fantasies are slipping away.

But when her own sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl has no choice but to journey to the Underground to save her. Drawn to the strange, captivating world she finds--and the mysterious man who rules it--she soon faces an impossible decision. With time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.

Dark, romantic, and powerful, Wintersong will sweep you away into a world you won't soon forget.

I don't know if Goblin Kings are a really common myth in Asia or not, but I've read two stories that involve a Goblin King kidnapping someone to make as their wife or of them searching for a Goblin Bride. There is even a popular Korean drama that is called Goblin with a similar goal of looking for a Goblin Bride. Maybe it is just a coincidence. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews of this book. Interested to see how it'll turn out. 

4. Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor 

From the creators of the wildly popular Welcome to Night Vale podcast comes an imaginative mystery of appearances and disappearances that is also a poignant look at the ways in which we all struggle to find ourselves...no matter where we live.

Located in a nameless desert somewhere in the great American Southwest, Night Vale is a small town where ghosts, angels, aliens, and government conspiracies are all commonplace parts of everyday life. It is here that the lives of two women, with two mysteries, will converge.

Nineteen-year-old Night Vale pawn shop owner Jackie Fierro is given a paper marked "King City" by a mysterious man in a tan jacket holding a deer skin suitcase. Everything about him and his paper unsettles her, especially the fact that she can't seem to get the paper to leave her hand, and that no one who meets this man can remember anything about him. Jackie is determined to uncover the mystery of King City and the man in the tan jacket before she herself unravels.

Night Vale PTA treasurer Diane Crayton's son, Josh, is moody and also a shape shifter. And lately Diane's started to see her son's father everywhere she goes, looking the same as the day he left years earlier, when they were both teenagers. Josh, looking different every time Diane sees him, shows a stronger and stronger interest in his estranged father, leading to a disaster Diane can see coming, even as she is helpless to prevent it.

Diane's search to reconnect with her son and Jackie's search for her former routine life collide as they find themselves coming back to two words: "King City". It is King City that holds the key to both of their mysteries, and their futures...if they can ever find it.

I received this book and the second book in this series from my best friend ever. She doesn't read any fiction books what so ever, so she didn't know if I'll enjoy this book or not. She basically went to a book store and bought the most popular book in the YA section LOL. I'm afraid I'll be a bit lost since I don't listen to the podcast. It sounds interesting and I'm hoping I'll love the book.

5. It Devours! by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

From the authors of the New York Times bestselling novel Welcome to Night Vale and the creators of the #1 international podcast of the same name, comes a mystery exploring the intersections of faith and science, the growing relationship between two young people who want desperately to trust each other, and the terrifying, toothy power of the Smiling God.

Nilanjana Sikdar is an outsider to the town of Night Vale. Working for Carlos, the town’s top scientist, she relies on fact and logic as her guiding principles. But all of that is put into question when Carlos gives her a special assignment investigating a mysterious rumbling in the desert wasteland outside of town. This investigation leads her to the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God, and to Darryl, one of its most committed members. Caught between her beliefs in the ultimate power of science and her growing attraction to Darryl, she begins to suspect the Congregation is planning a ritual that could threaten the lives of everyone in town. Nilanjana and Darryl must search for common ground between their very different world views as they are faced with the Congregation’s darkest and most terrible secret. 

From my understanding, the second book in the series does not follow the first book. It is two separate stories that takes place in the same world. Also, this main character's name is a tongue twister for me lol... I'm curious where this series will bring me. Maybe I'll need to listen to the podcast. 

That is all everyone! I think I am the most excited to read Ash Princess and least excited to read Ace of Shades and Wintersong. I always read my book by going down my TBR list. How do you guys pick which books to read next? Let me know down below :)