Tag Archives: book

Nov 2 2013
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Stacking the Shelves – October’s Edition!

Stacking the shelves

Hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Considering I own over 4000 books, I have a difficult time justifying the purchase of new books when there are so many unread ones on my shelves. I did the math, and if you subtract the ones I’ve already read, then divide the remaining by my average 100 books read per year, it will take me at least 35 years to read everything in my current collection. That’s not even taking into account all of the new amazing books that will come out in that timeframe (I can think of at least 20 I want in the next few months alone). Because of this, I have recently started to clear out some of the titles I know I won’t get to within the next ten years. There are so many unread series that I am excited for that I honestly haven’t missed the ones I was only casually interested in. Let the book purge begin!

Does that mean I’ve stopped purchasing books altogether? Uh, no. Not even close. I’m just a little more picky. :-)

Here’s a look at my library’s new additions:

Hardcopies:

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E-Books:

Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon
The Bane by Keary Taylor
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
The Glasswrights’ Apprentice
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
The Fifth Wave by Ricky Yancey
Allegiant by Veronica Roth

ARCs:

Alliance by Mark Frost
Fractured by Sara Fine
Unhinged by A.G. Howard
Freak of Nature by Julia Crane
Pawn by Aimee Carter
Lady Thief by A.G. Gaughen

Thank you Netgalley!

 There you have it – my month of splurges for October!

What books stacked your shelves this week?

Nov 1 2013
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Dystopian Reading Challenge 2013 – The October Edition!

Insurgent-Veronica-Roth-Divergent-Cover

Hosted by Blog of Erised (one of my favorite blogs), this feature challenges readers to pick up twenty-four dystopians over the course of one year. I don’t know how I’m only just finding out about this now, as I would’ve loved to participate from the beginning. Although, I haven’t missed out entirely because, as a self-proclaimed dystopian addict, I have been sort of participating all year. Here is a look at all the dystopian I’ve read (and reviewed) this month:

Inhuman by Kat F Falls
False Memory by Dan Krokos
Allegiant by Veronica Roth

 Inhuman – 4/5 stars

False Memory – 3/5 stars

Allegiant – 4.5/5 stars

 Add that to the 16 books I’ve read over the year and we end up with:

The Official Tally:

19/24

 Level 4: Leader!

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  What I love about this challenge is that it’s basically a celebration of the awesome dystopian books I would’ve been reading anyway (and it allows me to connect with other dystopian-addicts who are just as fanatical as I am).

 What dystopians have you read this year?

Oct 31 2013
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October 2013: Review Recap!

Review Recap

I actually read a ton of books that I loved this month. The only problem is, I didn’t have a chance to write reviews for all of them (I know, ultimate shame). So, although this recap doesn’t accurately reflect my month in reading, there were still some pretty decent books reviewed:

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Book of Enchantments by Patricia C. Wrede
Hammered by Kevin Hearne

Poison Study – 4/5 stars

The Book of Enchantments – 4/5 stars

Hammered – 2/5 stars

False Memory by Dan Krokos
Inhuman by Kat F Falls
Prodigy by Marie Lu

 False Memory – 3/5 stars

Inhuman – 4/5 stars

Prodigy – 4/5 stars

And my favorite read:

Allegiant

 Allegiant – 4.5/5 stars!

As I said, most of best books I picked up this month haven’t been reviewed yet, so be on the lookout within the next couple weeks for some rave reviews!

Waiting on Wednesday features:

This is probably the best collective month of coming soon features that I’ve ever done – all of these books (with exception of the Estep book) I am so excited to read that I will be dropping everything to pick them up the day they come out!

What awesome books did you read this month?

by Niki Hawkes

Oct 29 2013
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Coming Soon: The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead

The immortal crownTitle: The Immortal Crown

Author: Richelle Mead

Series: Age of X #2

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: May 29, 2014

The Overview: Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion.

Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity.

Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.

The immortal crown

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

As Richelle Mead is my favorite author, I’m excited to read anything she decides to publish. As a futuristic urban fantasy, Gameboard of the Gods was one of her best works yet and I am extremely eager to see what happens next. All I can say is, I will be dropping everything to read The Immortal Crown the day it comes out (which is halfway through next year ::grumbles::).

What book are you waiting on?

Oct 29 2013
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Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten Book Covers by Luis Royo

Top ten Tuesday pink

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 In honor of Halloween, this Top Ten post was supposed to be devoted to my favorite scary book covers. As I don’t particularly like books with creepy covers I thought I would (yet again) take it in a different direction:

 Top Ten Book Covers by Luis Royo

 Not only is Royo my favorite artists, but his works often have a bit of a darker edge – perfect for Halloween (The covers I’ve chosen lack of a little bit of that darkness, but they’re in the minority of his works. Just do a google search and you’ll see what I mean…caution: they can get pretty racy).

 I been wanting to feature these covers for a while, so I’m glad I finally found an excuse. I will admit that some of these I picked up based on the cover art alone, which sounds weird, but he hasn’t let me down yet – some of these books are among my favorites.

 There you have it! What books made your list this week?

Oct 25 2013
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Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

AllegiantTitle: Allegiant

Author: Veronica Roth

Series: Divergent #3

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Rating: 4.5/5 stars!

The Overview: The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Allegiant

The Review:

With the hundreds of books in my TBR pile, I rarely pick up anything the day it comes out. That so wasn’t the case with Allegiant! I was excited for this one the moment they revealed the cover and have been counting down the days since. With all the waiting and build-up, I was seriously setting myself up for disappointment if it didn’t live up to expectations…so thank goodness it was amazing!

I loved it every bit as much as the first two books. From the electric love story to the exciting “can’t put it down” plot, it was a heart-wrenching conclusion to one of the best dystopian’s out there. The voice of the story (my favorite part to it) drew me right back into the story as if no time had elapsed. What’s more, there was twice the perspective because Roth added Tobias’s POV. As this is the first book to include more than one perspective, I was really nervous I wouldn’t enjoy it as much. Turns out I enjoyed it more. His perspective added a great new dynamic to the story and if possible got me even more involved.

All I can say is, what a great writer! Roth knows how to put in romance without making it sappy, write conflicts deep enough to affect you without making it a sob story, and maintain a masterful yet understated pacing that soon has you flying through the book with abandon. I am truly sad this series has come to an end, and look forward to reading anything she produces in the future.

I love the concept of this world, And what this book did was take everything a little bit deeper and broader. There were some profound revelations for the characters within these pages and I’m still reeling from them days later. Overall, this series provided the same intensity and excitement I felt while reading Hunger Games and, if I’m honest, I reckon I enjoyed it more when evaluating the series as a whole.

Recommended Reading: for dystopian fans, or even those looking to get into the genre. It had a slow-building love story and an exciting plot and I liked it so much I mention it to every customer I catch browsing in the teen section. Also, with the movie coming out, I recommend it to those wanting to read it before they see it (If you’ve been stalling, now’s your chance now that they’re all released).

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes