This is going to be one of those sad instances where I’m really not all that inclined to want to read the books I’ve come across. Of course, some of you might think differently and so here’s an opportunity to check out two books that I’m passing up, but definitely have some merit.

An anthology of stories with no endings is what you’ll find in Fresh Ink. Various authors have come together to provide you with stories that are written for the readers to finish. While it’s a fascinating idea, I have this feeling that I’m going to find it slightly infuriating. Also, I’ve come to realize that I’m not the biggest fan of anthologies since it can be difficult to move out of one story and so quickly into another, at least emotionally. So, while this may be for some, it’s probably not for me.

In partnership with We Need Diverse Books, thirteen of the most recognizable, diverse authors come together in this remarkable YA anthology featuring ten short stories, a graphic short story, and a one-act play from Walter Dean Myers never before in-print.

Careful–you are holding fresh ink. And not hot-off-the-press, still-drying-in-your-hands ink. Instead, you are holding twelve stories with endings that are still being written–whose next chapters are up to you.

Because these stories are meant to be read. And shared.

Thirteen of the most accomplished YA authors deliver a label-defying anthology that includes ten short stories, a graphic novel, and a one-act play. This collection will inspire you to break conventions, bend the rules, and color outside the lines. All you need is fresh ink.

Fierce Like a Firestorm by Lana Popović is the second and final novel in a duology that I admittedly do not know a whole lot about/ The synopsis discusses magical powers, twin sisters, and the attempted enchantment of Death himself. Intriguing? Sure. Enough to get me to read it? Probably not. I didn’t really feel eager or inspired to pick up this book and while there may have been a time when I’d have said it was worth giving a chance, I’ve reached a point recently where I’m trying to focus my reading on books I’m fairly certain I’ll really enjoy just because I’ve had far too many flops lately.

In the bewitching conclusion to Lana Popovic’s sumptuous and romantic teen fantasy duology, Malina must use her gleam to rescue her twin sister from a magical power more dangerous than Death.

Twin sisters Iris and Malina thought they knew how to reverse the ancient curse that haunts their line, the spell that destines them to use their gleams—unique forms of beauty-manipulating magic—to entice and enchant none other than Death himself.

But both sisters thought wrong.

Instead of ending the wicked bargain with the power of her infinite bloom, Iris is taken to an exquisite, uncanny realm in between this world and the next—a world Death created for her alone. Only, unlike all of Death’s companions before, Iris’s body goes on the one-way journey along with her soul, arriving in a kingdom never meant to sustain a living girl.

Left behind with Niko, her girlfriend, and Luka, the boy her sister loves, Lina searches for a way to save Iris. But as Lina unearths the dark secrets that bind her family to parallel fates of loss and immortality and Iris tries to outwit Death on his own terrain, a power resurfaces that even Mara, the original witch mother, fears. Now both sisters must learn to fully embrace their gleams—or else they’ll truly lose each other forever.

Luscious and breathtaking, Fierce Like a Firestorm is the second book in Lana Popovic’s dazzling duology about freedom, beauty, sacrifice, and the infinite power of love.

And that’s all for this week! I hope you’ve all been enjoying your time reading!

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