Happy Friday Junior, and Backlist Blast day! This week’s feature has been in my TBR pile for quite some time, and I’m quite embarrassed that I haven’t gotten to it yet. I feel like I’m the only one who hasn’t read it yet. Haha. Also, I’m so happy to see that so many of you have decided to join Backlist Blast, and in order to make your post for this meme more visible (and your blogs, Insta, or Twitter accounts too), I have decided to add a link-up form/widget to the bottom of every Backlist Blast post from now on! So, don’t forget to add your links to the form, so that all readers can see your posts.

Backlist Blast is a meme created by Milana from A Couple Reads and myself, and is meant to encourage book bloggers to feature and talk about backlist books (meaning books that were published 6 months ago, or earlier). We all get excited about all of the newest books coming out, but many of us also have a looming TBR of books published 6 months ago or earlier that we still need to read! The main purpose of this meme is to talk about those books, and remember why we wanted to read them in the first place. Another purpose is for readers to find out about awesome backlist books that they might have never heard of before! For more information on the meme, and for optional themes, please see the info page here.

– My Backlist Blast Choice –

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

To see the other pics for this meme, go follow me on Instagram!

I feel really guilty about this one! I bought the book in 2016 and intended to read it right away. Now it’s 2018 and I haven’t read past where the excerpt on Amazon ends! Numerous blogger friends have recommended that I listen to the audiobook while reading along in the book for the best experience. I just feel like I need to have a good amount of free time to do that. Normally, I listen to audiobooks while doing stuff for work, or writing a blog post, but if I’ll be reading along in the actual book (which I spent money on, and really should read) … so … yeah. Soon!

– About the Book –

Title: Illuminae
Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Type: Fiction
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House)
Published: October 20, 2015
Source: Personal Purchase

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

– About the Authors –

Amie Kaufman is a New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of science fiction and fantasy. Her multi-award winning work has been published in over 35 countries, and is in development for film and TV. A couple of her career highlights so far include professional wolf-howling lessons, and working as a story consultant at NASA. You can sign up for her newsletter to see what she’s working on, hear when she releases a new book, and be automatically entered for giveaways: www.eepurl.com/6Ya8j She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, their rescue dog, and her considerable library.

Jay Kristoff is the #1 international, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE NEVERNIGHT CHRONICLE, THE ILLUMINAE FILES and THE LOTUS WAR. He is the winner of five Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, has over half a million books in print and is published in over thirty five countries, most of which he has never visited. He is as surprised about all of this as you are. He is 6’7 and has approximately 12,000 days to live. He does not believe in happy endings.

– Link-up –

Welcome to the new link-up feature! Please link up your Backlist Blast post specific to this week, rather than your blog or social media account in general. You can either share a blog post, an Instagram post, or a tweet from Twitter on here (or all 3 if you so desire)! I also welcome any feedback regarding the link-up!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING MY BACKLIST BLAST POST! HOW HUGE IS YOUR BACKLIST TBR, AND WHICH BOOK/BOOKS DO YOU THINK YOU’LL GET TO FIRST? WHY? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!