Tag Archives: waiting on Wednesday

Mar 3 2015
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Coming Soon: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Walk on earth a strangerTitle: Walk on Earth a Stranger

Author: Rae Carson

Series: The Gold Seer Trilogy #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: September 22, 2015

The Overview: The first book in a new trilogy from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Rae Carson. A young woman with the magical ability to sense the presence of gold must flee her home, taking her on a sweeping and dangerous journey across Gold Rush–era America. Lee Westfall has a secret. She can sense the presence of gold in the world around her. Veins deep beneath the earth, pebbles in the river, nuggets dug up from the forest floor. The buzz of gold means warmth and life and home—until everything is ripped away by a man who wants to control her. Left with nothing, Lee disguises herself as a boy and takes to the trail across the country. Gold was discovered in California, and where else could such a magical girl find herself, find safety? Rae Carson, author of the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy, dazzles with this new fantasy that subverts both our own history and familiar fantasy tropes. Walk on Earth a Stranger, the first book in this new trilogy, introduces—as only Rae Carson can—a strong heroine, a perilous road, a fantastical twist, and a slow-burning romance. Includes a map and author’s note on historical research.

Waiting on Wednesday
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Considering how much I loved The Girl of Fire and Thorns, I am eager to read anything Carson decides to write. She has a wonderful way with characters, romance, and conflict, and I have no doubt Walk on Earth a Stranger book is going to be every bit as entertaining as I’m hoping it will be. Is it September yet?! Seriously!

What book are you waiting on?

by Niki Hawkes

Mar 2 2015
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February 2015 Reading Recap!

Review Recap

I read a little bit more than usual this month, which is saying something considering my average is more than most people read in a year (not including fellow book bloggers who would probably wipe the floor my numbers). I also managed to put together a decent number of blog posts, attend a writing conference, and reorganize my library. I am wildly impressed with myself. Let’s take a look at February 2015’s month in reading:

Books Read:

My favorite book for February is a tie between Dead Heat and Wither.

Books Reviewed:

Guardians of the West by David Eddings
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Guardians of the West by David Eddings – 2/5 stars

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor – 3/5 stars

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas – 3.5/5 stars

Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs

Tinker by Wen Spencer – 4/5 stars

Stolen by Kelley Armstrong – 4.5/5 stars

Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs – 5/5 stars!

Waiting on Wednesday Features:

I am equally excited for both of these titles, to the point where I will probably read both of them as soon as they come out.

Top Ten Tuesday Features:

Niki’s Top Ten Bookish Problems!

Other Fun Stuff:

10981219_10203404931353253_4121600290854703076_nAfter years of pining, I finally got the chance to meet my all-time favorite author Richelle Mead! It was a surreal experience, and I was so nervous I’m pretty sure I repeated myself three or four times “I love you, your my favorite author… Your my favorite… I love your books…” and so on. It was pretty pathetic. I blame the massive headache I was suffering from at the time.Even so, it was neat, and I got a couple of my favorites signed.

For the past two months I have been competing to become one of Julie Czerneda’s beta readers for her upcoming Clan novel. Aside from my master’s degree, I can’t remember ever working this hard towards anything in my entire life. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but I am seriously putting my heart and soul into this thing. As of this moment, I’ve made it into the top ten, and have submitted my last round of quiz answers. I’ll find out if I’ve been chosen sometime after Wednesday… Wish me luck!

How was your month in reading?

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 24 2015
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Coming Soon: The White Rose by Amy Ewing

The White RoseTitle: The White Rose

Author: Amy Ewing

Series: The Lone City #2

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: October 6, 2015

The Overview: Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude. But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm. But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?

Waiting on Wednesday
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The Jewel was one of my Top Ten Books of 2014, and I’m so freaking excited for the sequel I can hardly stand it. I have a weakness for this type of novel – girls in pretty dresses trying to survive in a semi-dystopic world (granted, this is a very specific type of book, but I’ve loved every one that I’ve read so far). The Jewel had a lot of elements that I loved about The Selection Trilogy, but explored the society and the world building a lot better in my opinion. It also had a unique love-interest, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was most looking forward to seeing where that goes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I will be off pining for this book until it comes out in October.

Is anybody else fangirling over this one is much as I am?

by Niki Hawkes

Feb 11 2015
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Coming Soon: Breakout by Ann Aguirre

BreakoutTitle: Breakout

Author: Ann Aguirre

Series: The Dred Chronicles #3

Genre: Science Fiction

Release Date: August 25, 2015

The Overview: The prison ship Perdition has become a post-battle charnel house with only a handful of Dred’s soldiers still standing and now being hunted by Silence’s trained tongueless assassins. Forging an uneasy alliance with mercenary commander Vost—who is their only chance at escape—the Dread Queen will do whatever it takes to end her life sentence on Perdition and keep the survivors alive long enough to cobble together a transport capable of getting them off station. If Dred and her crew can win the deadly game of cat and mouse, the payoff is not only life but freedom—a prize sweeter than their wildest dreams. Yet the sadistic Silence would rather destroy Perdition than let a single soul slip from her grasp…

Waiting on Wednesday:

Ann Aguirre is easily one of my all-time favorite authors. I fell in love with her Grimspace series, and am beginning to love this one just as much! I love the concept of the story, the characters, the setting, and the action! I just started reading the second book in this series, and I’m going to have to pace myself because August is really far away! If you’re in the mood for Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, or even Dystopian, The Dred Chronicles managed to hit the spot for all of them.

What are you waiting on?

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 2 2014
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Coming Soon: The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkowski

The winner's crimeTitle: The Winner’s Crime

Author: Marie Rutkowski

Series: The Winner’s Trilogy #2

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: March 3, 2015

The Overview: The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret. As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

Waiting on Wednesday
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I have to say I really enjoyed The Winner’s Curse even though the conflicts within the story drug out just a little bit too long for my taste. Even so, I like where the story is going and will definitely be excited to read this one in March. There was enough world building in the first one to pique my interest, but I’m looking forward to seeing the author expand on it even more in this much-anticipated sequel. So far, the story has been entertaining, but not quite worth all of the hype I’ve seen in the blogosphere (in my humble opinion). I’m hoping The Winner’s Crime will make me a believer. :-)

 

Nov 9 2014
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October 2014 Recap!

Review Recap

 October was a rough month for the obsessive bookseller. Some of you might know that I’ve been dealing with a crippling dual-wrist injury and I had a particularly bad flareup right at the beginning of the month. I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to keep my new job, so the blog kind of got put on the back burner while I focused every energy I had on getting better. I am not totally healed yet, but things are looking better.

In addition to all of that, I lost my Grandmama… Like I said, it has been a really rough month. I might do a small tribute post for her later to celebrate the life she had, but for now I’d like to just talk about the number one thing we had in common: our love of books.

Books Read:

I have a love-hate relationship with the books I read this month. The top row was fantastic – I especially loved The Assassin King – but the bottom row left a little to be desired. I didn’t like The First Confessor or The Magician’s Apprentice at all, and the other two were solid three-star books but left a little to be desired (don’t hurt me! I know many, many people who loved both). I am actually a little proud of myself because all of these books at one point or another were on my “books I REALLY want to read” list, so at least I’m consistently picking up high-priority titles… Life’s too short to do anything else.

Books Reviewed:

Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs – 5/5 stars!

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer – 4/5 stars

Well, if I was going to review only two books I guess these are as good as any. I think the covers of both are gorgeous and they are both paranormal werewolf books that I’d highly recommend, so there you have it.

Top Ten Tuesday Features:

Top Ten Series I Want to Start!

 I think I am finally at that point where most of the TTT topics are starting to repeat themselves. I’ve been participating in the feature for well over a year now and, although the topics are worded differently, the books I would choose are nearly identical to the lists I did ages ago. Because of this, I probably should consider dropping the feature unless it’s a topic I’m really inspired by. It’s actually my most popular feature, but I can’t help but think a lot of those are just “hey, I’m commenting on this post so hopefully you will come comment on mine” type of visits that really aren’t helping anybody out. Although, I have met some amazing bloggers through the feature… Hell, I don’t know. I guess a lot will depend on how fresh the topics are going forward. I think I’m making this a lot more complicated than it has to be.

Waiting on Wednesday Features:

Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins
The Heir by Kiera Cass

 Okay, so I admit my lack of activity with this feature has less to do with what I’ve been going through and more to do with the lack of upcoming titles on my book horizon Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of books coming out that I want to read between now and next May, but I’ve kind of sort of already featured them all. For the record, The Heir is very near the top of that priority list.

That’s my month in reading… How was yours?

by Niki Hawkes