August Wrap-Up

Sooooo...

As I am writing this I am about to collapse on my keyboard. No energy to link my posts from the month.  This is basically going to be a book haul for the month excluding review books because I'm too exhasuted to look through emails at the moment.

Sunday Discussion: The Throne of Glass Book Boyfriend Edition

Every Sunday I find a bookish topic to discuss.  Have an idea for a discussion post?  Just leave a comment or send me an email at christinathebookreader@gmail.com

Waiting on Wednesday (26) Fear the Drowning Deep

Waiting on Wednesday (26)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming releases we're excited about.

This week I'm excited about:

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Top Ten was a creative one.  Top Ten books that would be on my syllabus if I taught X 101.  I choose... Complex Villains.  For this post, a villain can be a person, an idea, etc.  Whatever is driving the conflict.

Quick Update

Well, I really hate having to write this post...

This update is to say that I will not likely have a review for Saturday.  I was out of town all weekend (just got home a few minutes ago).  For a few days last week I had renewed my love of writing.  After so many authors pushing Scrivener I caved and bought it.  And I have been spending a lot of time transferring over my dystopian/fantasy novel (a lot of time because I'm revising it while moving it).

So I really haven't gotten much done in the way of reading.  I'm trying to finish up the ARC preview of Truthwitch from NetGalley this week so that I can get another review for them down.  But most likely if I have a review posted on Saturday it will not be one of my review books (since I haven't actually started another one yet).

I will still have my Sunday Discussion.  This week will be a special Throne of Glass edition.  So don't miss it!  I also apologize that I haven't updated the pages very recently.  The crazy busy is getting to me.  Hopefully I will finish what I'm reading/working on soon and I can get some reviews up.  But I am officially taking this week (and maybe next week) off for reviews.

Review: Shattered Blue by Lauren Bird Horowitz

Title: Shattered Blue
Author: Lauren Bird Horowitz
Publisher: Skyscape
Release Date: September 15, 2015

For Noa and Callum, being together is dangerous, even deadly. From the start, sixteen-year-old Noa senses that the mysterious transfer student to her Monterey boarding school is different. Callum unnerves and intrigues her, and even as she struggles through family tragedy, she’s irresistibly drawn to him. Soon they are bound by his deepest secret: Callum is Fae, banished from another world after a loss hauntingly similar to her own.

But in Noa’s world, Callum needs a special human energy, Light, to survive; his body steals it through touch—or a kiss. And Callum’s not the only Fae on the hunt. When Callum is taken, Noa must decide: Will she sacrifice everything to save him? Even if it means learning their love may not be what she thought?

Sunday Discussion: Plot Pet Peeves

Every Sunday I pick a bookish topic and create a discussion post around it.  If you have an idea for a discussion post, just leave a comment or email me at christinathebookreader@gmail.com.

This week I want to talk about bookish pet peeves.

Review: Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett

Title: Blood and Salt
Author: Kim Liggett
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 22, 2015

Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn in this one-of-a-kind romantic horror.

“When you fall in love, you will carve out your heart and throw it into the deepest ocean. You will be all in—blood and salt.”

These are the last words Ash Larkin hears before her mother returns to the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But when Ash follows her to Quivira, Kansas, something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time.

Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town’s history of unrequited love and murder, alchemy and immortality. Charming traditions soon give way to a string of gruesome deaths, and Ash feels drawn to Dane, a forbidden boy with secrets of his own.

As the community prepares for a ceremony five hundred years in the making, Ash must fight not only to save her mother, but herself—and discover the truth about Quivira before it’s too late. Before she’s all in—blood and salt.

ARC August Week 3 Update

So here's what's going on this week in my ARC august life.  I did a bit better this week than last week.

Finished

Review for Blood and Salt to come tomorrow.

Shattered Blue review coming next week.

Currently reading

A non-ARC review book.

Up Next

Waiting on Wednesday (25) Burning Glass

Waiting on Wednesday (25)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming releases we're excited about.

This week, I'm excited about:

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Top Ten theme is: Top Ten authors on my auto-buy list.

Review: The Cleansing by Nicola Johnson

Title: The Cleansing
Author: Nicola Johnson
Release Date: June 4, 2015

Adam’s world was turned upside down when he found out he was a royal descendent of the Torian Empire. The empire fell to its knees when the Casothic Army exiled his grandfather King Blake, for crimes against Prince Charles of Cathos. King Blake along with thousands of his loyal followers escaped to Earth. Blake stayed in hiding for eighteen years gathering Intel and building up a new army. He is now ready to take back the thrown.

Before Blake returns to wage war on Torin he decides that it is imperative to rid the race of the mix breed children. In his mind the mingling of Earth and Torian blood will weaken his perfect race. He refuses to accept the devolution of his kind. He decides to cleanse the race in order create a pure blood society.

Blake knows in order to win over his people he must begin the cleansing in the royal family. He targets his Grandson Adam, the first half breed Prince. He knows he must assassinate Adam before his eighteenth birthday, the time when Torian minors become aware of their true power. When his attempt fails he sends out trained assassins to murder him. Adam is on the run, fighting for his life, and is determined to uncover the truth about why the empire fell.

Sunday Discussion: Point of View part 2

This week I'm talking more about point of view, particularly in YA books.  Have an idea for a discussion post?  Just leave a comment or email me at christinathebookreader@gmail.com.

Review: The Demon Inside by M.L. Sparrow

Title: The Demon Inside
Author: M.L. Sparrow
Release Date: May 11, 2015

Darcy was a perfectly normal teenage girl, enjoying the summer after completing her A Levels with her boyfriend Alec. Until the night strange creatures begin falling from the sky, infecting people and transforming them into crazed, animalistic cannibals.
Having lost everything in one foul swoop - her parents, her home and all future plans - all Darcy can do is try to protect the people she does have left. Together, she and Alec, along with her younger sister, sarcastic best-friend, Alec's alcoholic father and the family dog, set off on a journey to find somewhere safe in a world where everything is different.
However, when they do finally discover a haven, a place to call home again, can they remain? And who will survive?

ARC August Update Week 2

So here's my ARC August week 2 update.  I didn't do as well this week with the ARC reading, but I do have a bunch of non-ARC review books piled up and I got two of them read instead.

Finished

Source: Physical ARC from HarperCollins.  Review to come closer to publication date.

Currently Reading

Source: eARC from First to Read.  Hoping to have this read and reviewed by next Saturday.

Up next on my list

Source: eARC from NetGalley.

And after that another non-ARC review book.

ARC Reviews Published
The Last of the Firedrakes by Farah Oomerbhoy
Another Day by David Levithan
The Heartbreak by Isabelle Connors

How's your ARC August going?

The Friday 56: Red Rising

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)

*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it)

*Post it.

P. 56 - "Death is easy when you've already tried to find it."

Mini Reviews for Mini Books: The Heartbreak by Isabelle Connors

Title: The Heartbreak
Author: Isabelle Connors
Release Date: August 25, 2015

After fighting so hard to win Arianna's heart Skylar is determined to keep it. There's only one problem, life. He tries his hardest to adapt into college life, but it's not that easy balancing everything. No matter how hard he tries, there's always something or someone in his way.

Arianna knew that once Skylar left for College their relationship would never be the same. She tries her hardest to keep their relationship intact, but nothing seems to be enough.

Is their love truly an Undying Love or is it just an infatuation?

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2015 Tag

This Tag is hosted by A Book So Fathomless.  I saw it over at Sam's blog Tsunkodu, and it just looked like so much fun (seriously, go check it out!).

1. Best Book You've Read So Far in 2015
How in the world do I choose just one???  Well I absolutely loved Red Rising and Incarnate.  I have truly loved a lot of books I've read this year, so picking just even those two was difficult.


2. Best Sequel You've Read So Far in 2015
Hmmm... The Crown of Embers, by Rae Carson.  It's the sequel to The Girl of Fire and Thorns.  I honestly thought it was the best of the series.

Waiting on Wednesday (24) The Winner's Kiss

Waiting on Wednesday (24)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming releases we're really excited about.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Review: Another Day by David Levithan

Title: Another Day
Author: David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 25, 2015

The eagerly anticipated companion to David Levithan’s New York Times bestseller Every Day

In this enthralling companion to his New York Times bestseller Every Day, David Levithan (co-author of Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green) tells Rhiannon’s side of the story as she seeks to discover the truth about love and how it can change you.

Every day is the same for Rhiannon. She has accepted her life, convinced herself that she deserves her distant, temperamental boyfriend, Justin, even established guidelines by which to live: Don’t be too needy. Avoid upsetting him. Never get your hopes up.

Until the morning everything changes. Justin seems to see her, to want to be with her for the first time, and they share a perfect day—a perfect day Justin doesn’t remember the next morning. Confused, depressed, and desperate for another day as great as that one, Rhiannon starts questioning everything. Then, one day, a stranger tells her that the Justin she spent that day with, the one who made her feel like a real person . . . wasn’t Justin at all.

Sunday Discussion: How do you feel about chapter lengths?

Every Sunday I try to pick a new bookish topic to discuss.  Have an idea for a discussion post?  Just leave a comment or send me an email at christinathebookreader@gmail.com

Review: The Last of the Firedrakes by Farah Oomerbhoy

Title: The Last of the Firedrakes
Author: Farah Oomerbhoy
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Release Date: August 15, 2015

16-year-old Aurora Darlington is an orphan. Mistreated by her adopted family and bullied at school, she dreams of running away and being free. But when she is kidnapped and dragged through a portal into a magical world, suddenly her old life doesn’t seem so bad.

Avalonia is a dangerous land ruled by powerful mages and a cruel, selfish queen who will do anything to control all seven kingdoms—including killing anyone who stands in her way. Thrust headlong into this new, magical world, Aurora’s arrival sets plans in motion that threaten to destroy all she holds dear.

With the help of a young fae, a magical pegasus, and a handsome mage, Aurora journeys across Avalonia to learn the truth about her past and unleash the power within herself. Kingdoms collide as a complicated web of political intrigue and ancient magic lead Aurora to unravel a shocking secret that will change her life forever.

ARC August Update Week 1

HURRAH! We've made it into August!  So Octavia and Shelly at Read. Sleep. Repeat. are hosting the 3rd annual ARC August, and as you may know, I signed up. Here are the rules:

• It may be a physical ARC or and eARC but it MUST be an ARC
• Yes it can be an ARC that has released as long as it’s an ARC I’m not going to nit pick much
• HAVE FUN WITH THIS! Feeling like you are being “forced” to read is the best way turn a fun event into a yucky obligation.
• Update post! I personally will do a post for each Saturday in August but that’s just me. You can update once a week, every other week or once for the whole darn event. This update can be in the form of a blog or tumblr post, vlog, link to your “ARC August 2015″ shelf or even an instagram pic! I want to make this as easy and low pressure as possible for you.

Here is my original sign-up post.  I only have 6 ARCs listed at that point.  I have received more.  A few more.  So here is what I have read at this point so far!

Reviews for the first two will come this weekend. (both of these are from NetGalley)  The third will be next week.

So here are the other ARCs that have now added themselves to my list XD

SO MANY MORE!!!

Okay. So you may remember from my July Wrap-Up post (here) that I received The Stars Never Rise  and The Anatomical Shape of a Heart from #BooksForTrade.  I received Blood and Salt from First to Read.  And the last three were all from NetGalley.  So they will certainly help my rating.  My list is growing.  WISH ME LUCK GUYS!

Waiting on Wednesday (23) Ash & Bramble

Waiting on Wednesday (23)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming releases we're excited about.

This week I'm excited about...

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Top Ten theme is top ten fairy tale retellings I've read or want to read.

Review: The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

Title: The Sin Eater's Daughter

Author: Melinda Salisbury

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: February 24, 2015

Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she's engaged to the prince, Twylla isn't exactly a member of the court.

She's the executioner.

As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month, she's taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla's fatal touch, avoids her company.

But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he's able to look past Twylla's executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla's been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen.

However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla's problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

Sunday Discussion: Red Queen vs. Red Rising

Every Sunday I find a bookish topic worth discussion.  If you have an idea for a discussion post, just leave a comment or email me at christinathebookreader@gmail.com

Review: Benjamin McTish and the Wizards of Coranim

Title: Benjamin McTish and the Wizards of Coranim
Author: June M. Pace
Publisher: Pressed Leaf Publishing
Release Date: June 17, 2014

Benjamin and his friends find themselves on a ridiculously amazing ride through all that is the World of Coranim. From the enchanting magical city of Na’Talom and the splendiferous flying contraptions of one, Pips P. Toggleton, inventor slash artist of the extraordinary, to the far off outer edge Steam Powered Metropolis of Pancilet, with the expanse of Aurorus Jungle residing in between. And always close by is their mentor and guide, Esmerelda Fet, the endearing but brash Light Sorceress and the most accomplished Medicine Elder alive. The Wickcliff sisters receive the utmost in unique lessons in the Land of the Winter Light from three very idiosyncratic Wizards, while Benjamin finds himself confronting the most elusive individual yet, an Aboriginal Gnome Wizard known as Locke, who is able to tweak at Benjamin’s psyche every chance he gets. This journey broadens in scope with the addition of two family members who find themselves in the Gilley Forest in search of the missing children. After their shocking encounter with the Dark Queen in her battle of monumental proportions with the Villa, we find Claire and Emmagene traveling with the Elves to their home in the Darmon. Once in the Elven city they are inundated with the mystery and the magic of such mind boggling wonders as the Transcendental Collay Birds and the Na Temple. They also meet up with a quirky character known as Beedlebee, a Mystic Seer who owns the Shoppe of Insight and shakes up the status quo. Can they make their way into Pancilet to find Benjamin, Annabel and Mathilda...or what of Edward, Braxton and Emeline? Did they, along with the rest of the Chickerings, make their way safely into Pancilet? Is everyone out of danger from the wrath that is Tar Vigorn? The sites and bustling of the Wizard city of Pancilet is an overload to the senses as great devices of transport wheel down the glistening cobblestone roads. Parasols and Top Hats dot the sidewalk strolls of the button gloved shoppers on their way to the nearest Pub for afternoon libations. However, all is not as it seems...nor is it ever, dear reader....there are a few surprises yet in store for you as you delve into the deep waters of Coranim and the ever mysterious story of a family that appears to have some very deep secrets of their own. Our journey begins exactly where last we left....in a Shoppe, in a magical little city in another dimension and a portrait of a woman....a woman wearing the necklace belonging to a Vila.