Aug 2 2014

Image

Stacking the Shelves – July 2014 Edition!

Stacking the shelves

Stacking the Shelves is probably my favorite book blogger feature. I absolutely love looking at all of the great books other readers bring home and equally love sharing my own haul! Here’s a look at the books that stacked my shelves this month:

Hardcopies:

This month I surprised myself by sticking to my Read 4, Buy 1 challenge. I’m excited about all of these books, but of course, Silver Shadows is going to get top priority!

Ebooks:

: Kalimpura by Jay Lake

: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

: How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

: The Bond by Wayne Pacelle

Yeah, totally an eclectic ebook category this month…

Library:

Even though I want to read these, I sadly won’t get around to all of them. I don’t know what it is about libraries, but I find myself requesting things constantly that I don’t have time for just because I know I want to read them eventually. Less effective.

Audio:

: The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind

: Red Seas Under Read Skies by Scott Lynch

: The Elvenbane by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey

: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

: The First Confessor by Terry Goodkind

Even though I read constantly, there’s something nice about being able to devour a book while focusing on something else. I listen to them on walks, while doing dishes, while cross stitching, and even as I fall asleep. Audiobooks rule.

ARCs:

September 23, 2014

October 14, 2014

September 2, 2014

I have been clamoring for copies of these for months – so excited!!

What books stacked your shelves this month? :-)

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 29 2014

Image

Top Ten Authors I Own the Most Books From!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

My apologies for posting this TTT so late – it took a surprising amount of time and effort to round up all of these amazing titles. Before you view the photos, you need to know that I am a book hoarder. If you don’t believe me, this slideshow presentation should alleviate any doubt. I tried to keep the focus on the authors I’ve actually read the most books from, not just collected. I think my collection of Mercedes Lackey, Terry Brooks, and Anne McCaffrey books might surpass a couple of these here, but I haven’t had a chance to read them all yet… #booknerdproblems

Top Ten Authors I Own the Most Books From!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my library. :)

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 23 2014

Image

Coming Soon: Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs

Title: Dead Heat

Author: Patricia Briggs

Series: Alpha & Omega #4

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: March 3, 2015

The Overview: Praised as “the perfect blend of action, romance, suspense and paranormal,”* the Alpha and Omega novels transport readers into the realm of the werewolf, where Charles Cornick and Anna Latham embody opposite sides of the shifter personality. Now, a pleasure trip drops the couple into the middle of some bad supernatural business… For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not traveling because of Charles’s role as his father’s enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal, as Charles plans to buy Anna a horse for her birthday. Or at least it starts out that way… Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae’s cold war with humanity is about to heat up—and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire.

dead heat 2
Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Even though I absolutely love the Mercy Thompson series, I didn’t immediately get on board with Alpha and Omega. That is, until Fair Game came out last year and rocked my world. It is easily one of my favorites from Briggs but also a favorite from the genre as a whole. Because it was that good, I can’t help but hope Dead Heat is just as amazing. March can’t come too soon! If you haven’t had the pleasure to read Patricia Briggs, she is my number one recommendation for both urban fantasy lovers and those wanting to try the genre (start with Moon Called).

What book are you waiting on?

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 21 2014

Image

Top Ten Series I’d Take With Me on a Deserted Island

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I’ve modified this week’s topic a bit because the original (Top Ten Characters I take on a Deserted Island) definitely would’ve been a mix of my Top Ten Book Boyfriends and my Top Ten Favorite Female Characters so I decided to take a different route entirely and present my:

Top Ten Series I’d Take With Me on a Deserted Island

: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

: The Name the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

: Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

: Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

: Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

: Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

: Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

: Homeland by R.A. Salvatore

: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

: Redwall by Brian Jacques

Kind of a hodgepodge, isn’t it? These titles represent my lengthier book favorites across a few different genres. While series length doesn’t necessarily coincide with excellent books (although there is a relation… authors who write better tend to get longer publishing deals), I decided to be strategic with my choices and take the series that provided the most long-term enjoyment. It pains me not to bring some of the shorter ones, but I think I’d get tired of them sooner. I should clarify that if a saga consists of multiple series, I’m counting them as one as long as they have continuity. That might be considered cheating, but I don’t care – I want to bring ALL the books.

What series would you take? :)

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 6 2014

Image

Stacking the Shelves – June 2014 Edition!

Stacking the shelves

Hosted by Tinga’s Reviews

In the last month’s STS I mentioned splurging on a ton of bargain hardcovers that wound up lost in transit. They turned up a week later (evidently one of my neighbors had been hanging on to them) and I was stoked! So much so that I shamelessly went and ordered even more. I added twenty-one books to my collection, most of which were hardcovers, and paid less than three dollars for most of them… How cool is that?

Hardcopies:

ARCs:

The only ARC acquired this month was actually a loan from Nikki over at There Were Books Involved. She saw my twitter post about how much I absolutely loved The Naturals and graciously offered to let me borrow the sequel (how awesome is that? Best blogging friend EVER!). Anyway, I’ve since read it and send it back and it is every bit as awesome-sauce as the first book – review to come.

In other news, I finally caved and bought another bookshelf for my YA/Middle Grade library. I’ve been needing it forever, but the company I bought my shelves from discontinued the cherry color about two years ago (hence my stalling). I finally decided I’d rather have a mismatched shelf than none at all. It looks a bit odd, but now all of my books have space on the shelf so I’m happy. :-)

In conclusion, it was great month over at The Obsessives Bookseller.

What books did you get this month? :-)

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 4 2014

Image

June 2014: Review Recap!

As far as reviews on the blog are concerned this month, I totally kicked butt! Okay, so nine reviews (ten if you counts my first dual review as two books) is nowhere near as many as some of my fellow bloggers post, but for me it’s a couple more over my average so I’m happy. I’m on this new kick of reviewing a book as soon as I finish it (most of them, anyway) as well as playing a little catchup to the reviews I’ve had outstanding for months. It’s nice to know my concerted efforts are paying off. Anyway, as for the titles reviewed, there were some pretty good ones this month – further evidence that my “read the best books first” goal is paying off. I feel like I’m finally growing out of the habit of picking up books because I feel like I have to and I’m now almost exclusively reading the books that make me happiest in the moment (It’s way harder to do than it sounds). Here is a look at the titles:

Mirror X by Keri Thompson

Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham

Push by Eve Silver – 2/5 stars

Mirror X by Karri Thompson – 2/5 stars

The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham – 2.5/5 stars

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Scarlet/Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen – 3/5 stars

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas – 4/5 stars

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo– 4/5 stars

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong – 4.5/5 stars

Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau – 5/5 stars!

Crown of Embers by Rae Carson – 5/5 stars!

So many great books! It’s hard to pick a favorite because my top three ratings are books from totally different genres. Crown of Embers is part of my new all-time favorite teen fantasy series, but Independent Study was such a fun read… Then you have Bitten, which then inspired me to go and watch the show and now I’m in love. Screw it! I love them all. It’s my blog and therefore I can have three favorite reads for June if I want to. ;-)

Waiting on Wednesday Features: