Some Blog Love - I Dream in Print

Hey friends, it's your friendly sporadic blogger here. I just wanted to pop in and tell you about a newer blog that I've been following. It's published by a good friend of mine, who happens to have fabulous taste in books, both for the young and the not-so-young. Stop by I Dream in Print (also, fantastic name)- you won't be sorry!

My Favorites from 2015

I've got somewhere in the vicinity of 30 reviews from 2015 still pending.  To say I'm behind would be an understatement (a repetitive one). But, since I adore reading everyone else's faves of the year, I figured I'd better share mine too. These are not necessarily published in 2015, just what I happened to pick up and love.

Best sequel:

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson

Best keep-you-guessing-to-the-end read:

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Best classic retelling:

Longbourn by Jo Baker

Best laugh-your-pants-off read:

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

Best love-being-a-girl read:

The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale

Best fairy tale retelling:

Rump by Leisl Shurtliff

Best entertaining nonfiction:

Packing for Mars by Mary Roach

Best nonfiction to inspire you to be better:

I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Best can't-put-it-down-must-read-faster book:

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (review to come)

Best as-good-as-the-first-time reread:

 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (my original review)

Best why-did-I-wait-so-long-to-pick-this-up read:

 The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley (review to come)

Best end of the series:

Winter by Marissa Meyer (review to come)

Best new fantasy series:

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson (review to come)

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Books Read in 2016

Here are the books I've read during 2016:

1. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
2. The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech
3. Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
5. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
6. Emma by Jane Austen
7. Dearest by Alethea Kontis
8. Cabinet of Earths by Anne Nesbit
9. Illuminae by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff
10. Calamity by Brandon Sanderson
11. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
12. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
13. Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth
14. Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth
15. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
16. The Only Pirate at the Party by Lindsey Sterling
17. Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose
18. The Martian by Andy Weir
19. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
20. Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow
21. Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
22. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
23. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
24. May B. by Caroline Starr Rose
25. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
26. Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay
27. The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
28. The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
29. The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
30. 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
31. Peaceful Parent, Happy Child by Laura Markham
32. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
33. Kepler's Dream by Juliet Bell
34. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Suzanne
35. Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
36. Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
37. Quiet by Susan Cain
38. Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
39. Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
40. Still Alice by Lisa Genovo
41. One Plus One by JoJo Moyes
42. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Lemmon
43. Gemina by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff
44. Heartless by Marissa Meyer
45. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

New and Upcoming Retellings, 2015-2016

It's been like a year since I've listed some new and upcoming retellings! (For a more complete listing of retellings, check out my classic retellings and fairy tale retellings lists.)  I've noticed some trends lately, though I didn't list all the books that fit these as several don't have covers yet.  We have lots of Sherlock Holmes tales (not surprising, since the copyright is up), a handful of Frankenstein tales (some not out until 2017), as well as some lovely obscure fairy tale retellings.  Here are some newly released and upcoming retellings I've discovered.


Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross
This is a companion to her other book, Kill Me Softly (a sleeping beauty retelling).  It came out in January of this year and is a retelling of Snow White.


One Witch at a Time by Stacy DeKeyser
This one is also a companion book; the first one is The Brixen Witch (the Pied Piper).  This one is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, not one that's seen a lot of retellings.  It came out in February of this year. 


Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen
This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, about the beast (a girl) and the curse that follows her family.  It came out in February of this year as well.


The Cottage in the Woods by Katherine Coville
As you can probably tell from the cover, this is a retelling of the Goldilocks story, but from the point of view of the bears.  Definitely not many of this fairy tale that I've read.  I'm intrigued!  It came out in February this year.


Valiant by Sarah McGuire
Another unusual fairy tale retelling, this one tackles the Brave Little Taylor.  I've yet to get my hands on it, but I'm interested enough to pick it up.  Arrived in April of this year.


Rook by Sharon Cameron
There have been a handful of Scarlet Pimpernel retellings lately, and here's another that's set in the future.  I'm pretty much a sucker for anything retelling that story, cause it's one of my faves.  Came out in April 2015.


Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany A. Schmidt
This one says it's loosely based on the Princess and the Pea, and it's first in a series called Once Upon a Crime Family.  I'm sold! Came out in May 2015.


Lock & Mori by Heather Petty
One of several Sherlock retellings that's come out recently.  This one looks intriguing as an origin story, and Moriarty is a girl (obviously).  Coming out September 2015.


The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser
I'm not sure if this is a straight up retelling of Moby Dick or not, but based solely on the characters of Ishmael and a Captain Ahab, I'm putting it in there.  This is a futuristic tale, set in space.  Coming October 2015.


Winter by Marissa Meyer
If you haven't heard about this one, you've been living under a rock.  Yeah! I'm so excited for it to finally come out - in November. Also, in case you didn't know, a retelling of Snow White.


Teen Frankenstein by Chandler Baker
I'm gonna let you guess which book this one is based on. :)  It's first in a new series called High School Horror, with plans to tackle Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Phantom of the Opera in the next books. This one comes out in January 2016.


Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
This one is a retelling of the tale of Blackbeard, also not something that there's much of (though, I might just be ignorant of others).  It's coming in February of 2016- and I LOVE that cover!


The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine
And here is another Snow White retelling, there are so many!  Coming in February of 2016.


The Great Hunt Wendy Higgins
And for another unusual retelling, this one is based on the Singing Bone, a Grimm brothers fairy tale that I know nothing about. Coming in March 2016.


Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
Not your typical retelling I believe, as this one "riffs on Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale," and it sounds rather interesting.  Coming next March.


Tru and Nelle by G. Neri
This is also not a straight up kind of retelling, as it's "inspired by the friendship between Truman Capote and Harper Lee."  It sounds rather interesting, nonetheless.  Coming in March 2016.


Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood by Liesl Shurtliff
This is the third in Shurtliff's series, the first two retelling Rumplestiltskin and Jack and the Beanstalk.  I've enjoyed both of them, so I'm eager to try this one as well.  Coming in April next year.


A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry
And one more unusual retelling, this one is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story “Rappaccini's Daughter,” which I've never heard of.  Sounds rather interesting and makes me want to find that short story.  Coming in April 2016.


Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake
And to round things out, we have a contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet.  This one comes out in May 2016.

Any favorites? Any that I missed?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage