Stacking the Shelves [1]

I've decided to follow Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews this month with Stacking the Shelves. I have decided to go monthly since that seems like the best time for me to get this post up and going. So every month on the last day, whether it be a Tuesday or a Saturday, I will post a picture and links to what I have hauled in this month.

From top to bottom:

Rose by Holly Webb

Extremities by David Lubar

Dead Girls Don't Lie by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell

Chosen at Nightfall by C.C. Hunter

Prep School Confidential by Kara Taylor

Weather Witch by Shannon Delany

Shadows of Glass by Kassy Tayler

All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

Where Beauty Lies by Elle & Blair Fowler

Replica by Jenna Black

Vortex by Julie Cross

**All books were received by the publishers in exchange for an honest review**

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Waiting on Wednesday #WoW @LaurenDeStefano @simonschuster

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's to spotlight upcoming reads which I can't wait to get my hands on.

This week my book is: 

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

Release date: October 1st 2013

Pre-order your copy today:
Amazon | TBD

On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.

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{Review} Shadow Falls: The Beginning by C.C. Hunter

Title: Shadow Falls: The Beginning
Author: C.C. Hunter
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy
Release Date: March 5th 2013
Source: Publisher
Purchase: TBD | Amazon

Now available together for the first time, don’t miss books one and two in C. C. Hunter’s spectacular Shadow Falls series!

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, but it soon becomes clear that the kids at Shadow Falls are far from ordinary. They’re supernatural—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world. Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason...if she can only figure out why, and what her burgeoning powers mean.

As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half Fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart. As Kylie struggles to make sense of her feelings and her new abilities, the dark side of the supernatural world emerges and makes life a whole lot harder. An evil enemy lurking in the shadows is about to threaten everything she holds dear…and bring her closer to her destiny.

Well, I honestly don't know why it has taken me so long to finally read this book. This book was amazing! I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and flowed. However, some parts were a little predictable, but in the end, it was amazing.

The characters were great. Kylie was a very strong individual, going through her parents constant fights and currently a divorce, and also her grandma's recent death and the break-up with her boyfriend, Trey. It's hard to keep it together during those types of trials, and I think C.C. Hunter wrote her amazingly strong. I can honestly say that I when I went through my grandma's death and a few of my own trials at the same time, I didn't manage to come out of it as strongly as she did, it took me some time.

Lucas and Derek also brought their own strengths and even weaknesses to the table. Each had their own faults and strengths, which made it hard to decide if you are on either Team Lucas or Team Derek. While Derek is always there for Kylie and has given her her own space to sort things out and figure out who she is, you see his softer side, and probably his more dominant side. As for Lucas, he is dark and brooding, a bit dangerous and a complete mystery. As Kylie starts to struggle to find herself, Lucas is also struggling his personal demons.

The rest of the characters were amazing as well. I loved the relationship between Della and Miranda, the constant bickering was classic. But they also cared for each other and for Kylie. Holiday was also pretty cool. A very strong and independent woman with whom Kylie had grown to trust.

-----------------------------------------------

Awake at Dawn was a great follow up novel to Born at Midnight. I enjoyed how all the characters still stayed and no one was voted off the island, so to speak. The reader got the chance to see Derek and Kylie grow stronger along with her abilities. The friendships were also made stronger and the arguing between Della and Miranda never seemed dull.

The reader also got to see Burnett a little more and get to know him better. In the first book he comes off as a cocky and arrogant and just totally full of himself. You get to see a more caring side of him this time around and get to see Holiday and him interact more.

Kylie's relationship with her mother also starts to open up and her relationship with outside friends, such as Sara, seems to come to a halt. All while she is still struggling with what and who she is.

The one thing that I did not care for was how little there was of Lucas in this one. (As you can tell, I'm a big fan of Lucas.) Although, when he did come back, he wasn't what I was expecting. Which was a pleasant surprise.

I can't wait to read Taken at Dusk, the follow up to this one. Waiting to see what unfolds for Shadow Falls.

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Waiting on Wednesday #WoW @ryangraudin @harperteen

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's to spotlight upcoming reads which I can't wait to get my hands on.

This week my book is: 

All That Glows by Ryan Graudin

Release date: February 11th 2014

Pre-order your copy today:
Amazon/TBD

Emrys—a fiery, red-headed Fae—always embraced her life in the Highlands, far from the city’s draining technology, until she’s sent to London to rejoin the Faery Guard. But this isn’t any normal assignment—she’s sent to guard Prince Richard: Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy and soon-to-be King. The prince’s careless ways and royal blood make him the irresistible for the dark spirits that feed on mortals. Sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure—Richard is one charge who will put Emrys’s magic and heart to the test.

When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.

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Top Ten Tuesday #TTT

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of their bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week they ask:

Top ten words/topics that will make me NOT buy/pick up a book

1. Erotica - Not big into erotica

2. Zombies - To me, zombies are just not creative, I mean, come on, all they do is walk around with their arms out screaming "ooohhh, I want brains!", not very interesting if you ask me, haha.

3. Sci/Fi - I enjoy watching it on television, but I have a hard time keeping up with it when I'm reading it

4. Dystopian - Don't go and think that this includes ALL dystopian, I do enjoy some of it, so I have to pick and choose carefully.

5. Cheating - If a book has anything to do with cheating or unfaithfulness, I will not buy it or I will put it down and walk away, and this is due more to personal reasons then anything.

6. Abusive - If there is anything that has to do with someone being abusive to another person, animal or child, whether it be physically or emotionally, you better believe that I will not be purchasing that book.

This is all I can think of this week. What about you?

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Waiting on Wednesday #WoW @andreacremer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's to spotlight upcoming reads which I can't wait to get my hands on.

This week my book is: 

The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer

Release date: April 22nd, 2014

Pre-order your copy today:
Amazon | TBD

Sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow refugees have scraped out an existence on the edge of Britain’s industrial empire. Though they live by the skin of their teeth they have their health (at least when they can find enough food and avoid the Imperial Labor Gatherers) and each other. When a new exile with no memory of his escape from the coastal cities or even his own name seeks shelter in their camp he brings new dangers with him and secrets about the terrible future that awaits all those who have struggled has to live free of the bonds of the empire’s Machineworks.

The Inventor’s Secret is the first book of a YA steampunk series set in an alternate nineteenth-century North America where the Revolutionary War never took place and the British Empire has expanded into a global juggernaut propelled by marvelous and horrible machinery.

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Review: Beauty by Nancy Ohlin

Title: Beauty
Author: Nancy Ohlin
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre: Young Adult, Retelling
Release Date: May 7th, 2013
Source: from publisher for review
Purchase: TBD | Amazon

Looks to kill for...

Ana is nothing like her glamorous mother, Queen Veda, whose hair is black as ravens and whose lips are red as roses. Alas, Queen Veda loathes anyone whose beauty dares to rival her own—including her daughter.

And despite Ana’s attempts to be plain to earn her mother’s affection, she’s sent away to the kingdom’s exclusive boarding school.

At the Academy, Ana is devastated when her only friend abandons her for the popular girls. Isolated and alone, Ana resolves to look like a true princess to earn the acceptance she desires.

But when she uncovers the dangerous secret that makes all of the girls at the Academy so gorgeous, just how far will Ana go to fit in?

I have always been a fan of retellings (as I'm sure you have heard me say before), so when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. And let's face it, the cover is beautiful!

Beauty is a retelling of the classic Snow White. But instead of being a wicked step-mother, it's a wicked mother who becomes jealous of her daughter's beauty. And Ana will do anything for her mother's approval, even if it means she needs to become hideous. But when the Beauty Consultant informs Queen Veda that her daughter will still surpass her in beauty she decides it's time to send her daughter away to a boarding school.

The characters were great! I really liked the relationship that Ana had with Pell. They have such a strong friendship, even when times are tough and things start to strain at their friendship, they always seem to pull through. 

Ana also loved her mother the Queen, very much and was always trying to please her. They had a more unconventional bond. Although Ana was alienated by her mother, she still loved her and still desperately tried to win her approval.

The story was quite good, however, very predictable. I could see where the direction of the story was going halfway through the book as soon as her friend, Pell, was accepted to a boarding school. I did wish to read more of what happened at the end of the book, instead the reader was kind of left hanging a little.

All in all, this was a great first novel for Nancy Ohlin and I cannot wait to read more. I would recommend this for anyone ages 14 and up.

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Review: Extremities by David Lubar

Title: Extremities: Stories of Death, Murder, and Revenge
Author: David Lubar
Publisher: Tor Teen
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Short Stories
Pages: 208
Release Date: July 23rd, 2013
Source: from publisher for review
Purchase: TBD | Amazon

Master of the macabre David Lubar turns his attention to dark and twisted tales for teens with Extremities: Stories of Death, Murder, and Revenge

A group of high school girls takes revenge on their sadistic gym teacher in the most fitting way possible. Two stowaways find themselves on a ship for the dead. An ancient predator stalks the wrong victim. Here are thirteen tales of death, murder, and revenge from the fertile and febrile imagination of master storyteller David Lubar—his first story collection for the teen audience.

When I received this book in the mail for review from Tor Teen, I didn't know what to expect from it in all honesty. I thought at first it would be something I might enjoy reading. And I was right, I finished this book in a day. I don't think I ever read a book that fast.

Remember when you had to write short stories for your English/Literature class? Well, Lubar writes a series of short stories, 13 to be exact, in this great book of Extremities: Stories of Death, Murder, and Revenge. They are not only entertaining to read but also horrifying a little gruesome. Some stories are not for the faint at heart.

I enjoyed reading some of the stories in this great book. They range from Science Fiction Horror to Realistic Horror. One of the stories even reminded me of something you might see on the cult favorite television show from the 90's, Buffy. This book is not for everyone, but I definitely would recommend this book to anyone 14 and older who love horror and a good scare.

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Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

Title: Beautiful Creatures

Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Genre: YA, UF, Witches

Release Date: Feb 4, 2010

Source: Purchased

Purchase: TBD | Amazon

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

 

I was determined to read this book before I watched the movie. I had not been so lucky with previous book to movie adaptations, such as Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Twilight and a few others. So I was glad that once I got done reading some of the books on my TBR pile I had a chance to dive right into this one.

A phenomenal debut novel for authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The story was captivating and alluring. It immediately pulled me right into their world. Very few books grab my attention within the first sentence, it usually takes a little longer to pull me in. I felt as if I was there in Gatlin, South Carolina right along with Ethan and Lena as they went on their adventure to find answers to their past as well as their future together.

This story was very well written. It made the reader feel like they were there. I could see the town and the people. I guess it also helped that I lived in Louisiana for four years, so it wasn't much of a stretch from one place to the other.

The characters were also great. I loved Ethan's character. Most of the books I had read lately were from the point of view of a young woman, so it was quite refreshing to have it from the point of view of a young man. Ethan is the determined type. Determined to be with Lena and determined to find a way to keep her safe and with him.

Lena was also a great character. She was an outcast at her other schools and immediately the outcast at Jackson High just because of her heritage. It mad me wish I was there just to knock the snobby girls out and put them in their place.

Macon, Amma and Link were great supporting characters as well. I love the support that Link gave and the cool calm of Macon. Amma was my favorite with her attitudes and they way she talked. She made me laugh a few times just because of how visually clear everything was. I could just picture her and her attitude with Ethan and Macon.

I think all and all this was an amazing story. I cannot wait to read Beautiful Darkness, the second book of the series. I will also be watching the movie tonight and hope that it's as great as the book and nothing is left out as with so many other book to movie adaptions.

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