Summer Reading with Jodi Meadows

Summer Reading with Jodi Meadows

I have only read The Orphan Queen from Jodi Meadows, however, hopefully I will change that this summer as her Incarnate series is on my to-read list! The Orphan Queen is now one of my favorite fantasy books, and I am super excited to read The Mirror King coming next year!

Below you can read a post done by Jodi herself on how she came up with the names and titles in The Orphan Queen.

 

Naming Things

By Jodi Meadows

 

For me, naming things is a huge challenge. Unless something

comes with a name right away (and sometimes that happens!), it

can take days or weeks or months of searching for just the right

thing.

The Indigo Kingdom named itself. I was lucky there. So did Aecor. I

didn't really have to fight my brain for either of them, or Liadia and

Laurel­by­the­Sea (two other kingdoms in the world). (Though

Laurel­by­the­Sea was definitely named after my editor.)

Which brings me to . . . stealing names. Friends, family, and

strangers on the internet: no one is safe. Sometimes I ask if I'm

going to name a villain after a friend, but often they're pretty

surprised to find themselves there later. You'll find lots of friends on

the map in THE ORPHAN QUEEN. Hand River? Ashton River?

Bow River? Cynthia, Brodi, and Erin (Bowman) respectively. There

are tons of others hiding in the stories!

But I don't just steal from people. I also steal from places. The map

probably looks suspiciously like Virginia. (Shocking!) I pulled

several names from the Shenandoah National Park, like

Greenstone (a type of stone found there), Thornton, Hawksbill. . . .

I had Blackrock, but apparently I had a lot of things that were black

(Black Knife, Black Flag, and more . . .) and it was suggested that I

branch out to different colors.

Even naming the Ospreys was kind of stealing. I researched birds

of prey for that area, found ospreys, and declared it the national

bird of Aecor right then and there. And thus, the rag­tag gang of

orphaned nobles had a name.

Finally, there's the hard way. Flipping through baby name sites.

Writing lists of words that fit with the themes and symbols I'm trying

to show. General stressing. Harassing friends to name things for

me. Crying. Eating chocolate. Usually, when I'm really desperate

and thinking this thing shall remain nameless for the rest of its days

­­ that's when my brain provides something.

Brains can be so cruel.

Out Now:

 

 

Coming Soon:

 

 

About Jodi:

Jodi Meadows lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, a Kippy*, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut. She is the author of the INCARNATE Trilogy and the forthcoming ORPHAN QUEEN Duology (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen). Visit her at www.jodimeadows.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social Media Links:

 

Goodreads  Website  Twitter

 

 

 

The Orphan Queen (Book Review)

The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1)
Jodi Meadows

Kindle Edition, 400 pages

Published March 10th 2015 by Katherine Tegen Books

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others



Review:


I don't read too much YA Fantasy, I like it, I just don't read a lot of it. I find too much YA Fantasy to be overwhelming. However, seeing the cover and reading the synopsis for this one, I thought it sounded like something I would love!  (That cover is absolutely gorgeous!)

And that is how it got on my mental list of most anticipated reads of 2015, and how I finished it 2 days after publication. (Even though I tried to read really slow because I had been warned about a cliffhanger and I was dreading it)

I admit, I couldn't get through a single chapter of The Orphan Queen without picturing this:



The Characters:

Wilhelmina. Her character reminded me a lot of Celaena from Throne of Glass. It also helps that they both have names that I have NO idea how to pronounce (sorry Sarah J Maas and Jodi Meadows for butchering your characters names!)I am just going to call Wilhelmina Wil from now on for the sake of my own sanity.

Wil was a pretty awesome character. She doesn't carry those weapons for looks everyone. And she forged documents in this book multiple times. Finally, she is a SPY!

BOOKS ABOUT GIRLS LIKE WIL ARE MY FAVORITES!
Just saying.

And even better than Wil, Black Knife + Wil. They both were awesome characters. Loved every scene.

The characters were all great, I could feel as if every character mentioned had this incredible backstory that just needed to come out (so I will most definitely be reading the novellas that are going to be released!)

The Plot:


In showing my best reaction to the plot in general, I take you back to this:



This GIF pretty much sums up my reaction to the entire plot. I really enjoyed it, it moved fast paced enough for me to stay interested, and I didn't read anything that particularly bugged me. Fantasy is kind of a funny thing for me, it can't be too, too deep in the world building for me to stay interested, and I have to see some strong characters. Usually when I read a Fantasy I go through it really slow and it doesn't keep me on the edge of my seat too much. But The Orphan Queen was a different story entirely. It kept me interested and on the edge of my seat till the very end! LOVED how fast paced it was!

The Orphan Queen was really good. It would definitely be near the top of my list if anyone ever asked for a YA Fantasy recommendation, I really liked the characters, and the plot entertained me.  This happens to be my first Jodi Meadows book, but I am very interested in checking out her other books now that I see how great The Orphan Queen is.

All I can say is, I need The Mirror King now.

Pretty please???

March TBR List

Having a February TBR list worked out really well last month, so I decided to do the same thing this month! My goal this month is the same as February, anywhere between 10-15 books would make me happy!

Below are a few that I will be trying to fit in.

 

 

I actually have to finish Silver Shadows before I get to reading this one, but I really want to finish up this series this month! (And on a side note, I am sorry, but that cover is AWFUL!)

 

I want to re-read Insurgent in preparation for the movie releasing this month! (SO excited!!!)

 

This book was a Waiting on Wednesday pick for me very recently, so obviously I am REALLY excited to read it!

 

 

I Was Here was on my February TBR list, and it is now pushed to be on my March TBR list. I WILL READ THIS BOOK.

 

This book sounds amazing. And lots of people are saying it is amazing, therefore I have high hopes that it will indeed be amazing.

 

 

 

5 Books are all I came up with, so hopefully I will read them all!

What is on your TBR list this month? Have you read any of these? Which one should I read first?

 

 

2015 Books that I NEED NOW! (Jan/Feb/Mar Edition)

Top 5 2015 Books that I NEED NOW! (Jan/Feb/Mar Edition)

 

Because ALLY CARTER!

Princess, Spy, everything I need for an epic fantasy!

The emotion! I have confidence that this will be great!

The Boy Next Door! (Even the title screams EM WILL LOVE ME!) AND ICE SKATING????? This is the recipe for the perfect book!

If you have read Elizabeth Wein's previous books (Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire), this one should be an obvious!


There are tons more I could put down here, but these are probably the top five!
What are you looking forward to?