Rock My TBR Challenge

SST Review: The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett + GIVEAWAY!

Title: The Anatomical Shape of a Heart
Author: Jenn Bennett
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Goodreads: Click Here!

Artist Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she's spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Leonardo da Vinci’s footsteps, she's ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down.

Jack is charming, wildly attractive . . . and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is—and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in Beatrix’s own family’s closet tear them apart?

Review: This Raging Light by Estelle Laure

Title: This Raging Light
Author: Estelle Laure
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: December 22, 2015


Can the best thing happen at the worst time?

Her dad went crazy. Her mom left town. She has bills to pay and a little sister to look after. Now is not the time for level-headed seventeen-year-old Lucille to fall in love. But love—messy, inconvenient love—is what she’s about to experience when she falls for Digby Jones, her best friend’s brother. With blazing longing that builds to a fever pitch, Estelle Laure’s soulful debut will keep readers hooked and hoping until the very last page.

Happy Thanksgiving + GIVEAWAY!

For those in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving!  For those not... well I'll be out of town all weekend.  My ten year highschool reunion is this weekend too (ugh).  

I'll have my laptop with me so I can check up on the blog.  And as always I'll be on twitter.

So to celebrate, I'm giving away a pre-order of one of the following 2016 releases! Anywhere TBD ships to!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood

Title: Inherit the Stars
Author: Tessa Elwood
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Release Date: December 8, 2015

Three royal houses ruling three interplanetary systems are on the brink of collapse, and they must either ally together or tear each other apart in order for their people to survive.

Asa is the youngest daughter of the house of Fane, which has been fighting a devastating food and energy crisis for far too long. She thinks she can save her family’s livelihood by posing as her oldest sister in an arranged marriage with Eagle, the heir to the throne of the house of Westlet. The appearance of her mother, a traitor who defected to the house of Galton, adds fuel to the fire, while Asa also tries to save her sister Wren's life . . . possibly from the hands of their own father.

But as Asa and Eagle forge a genuine bond, will secrets from the past and the urgent needs of their people in the present keep them divided?

Author Tessa Elwood's debut series is an epic romance at heart, set against a mine field of political machinations, space adventure, and deep-seeded family loyalties.

Sunday Discussion: Writing with Playlists

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

This month I'm talking a lot about writing, probably because of NaNoWriMo.

Review: More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

Title: More Happy Than Not
Author: Adam Silvera
Publisher: Soho Teen
Release Date: June 2, 2015

In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for 16-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again--but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely.

When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is.

Why does happiness have to be so hard?

#TheShelfieHop Book Shelf Tour!

Review: No Rest for the Wicked by M.L. Sparrow

Title: No Rest for the Wicked
Author: M.L. Sparrow
Release Date: December 1, 2015

When a rich gentleman finds a beautiful young woman lying in the snow, on the brink of death, he takes her back to his house and, when she has recovered, employs her as a maid. Immediately Elira realizes that Anthony Luther is no ordinary man and nothing about the house she now lives in is as it seems, for Anthony is a powerful wizard.

Inexplicably drawn together, they begin a tentative romance, but it’s not just Elira’s uncertainties and the rules of upper-class society which drive a wedge between them; rivalries and a precious family heirloom, a priceless necklace of unforeseen power handed down through generations, threaten not only the couple’s happiness, but also their lives and the safety of the people around them.

Sunday Discussion: Dealing with Inspiration (or Lack There-of)

This week's discussion topic is one that people talk about a lot.  What do you do when you don't know what to write?

The Mirror King: A Review in Emojis

So as promised, my initial thoughts while reading The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows.  Sadly, blogger does not support emojis (boo!).  So here they are in picture form to convey my feelings while reading.

Enjoy my completely SPOILER FREE review before my actual review publishes.

YALLFest!!!

Hey guys! Today, my sister and I are going to YALLFest in Charleston.  I'm so excited!  I am bringing a ton of books to get signed, and I'll probably be buying more.  I also have some duplicates to get signed and do a giveaway with!

I'll probably be around the twitter-sphere posting pictures and such.  But I won't be responding to comments made on the blog until I get back to Florida on Sunday.  I have some posts scheduled (as always) so it's not being neglected :)

I can't wait to do a post to wrap up everything that happens and everything I get! (Hoping to get a Passenger ARC!!!)

Waiting on Wednesday (34) The Rose and the Dagger

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...

Review: Hello? by Liza Wiemer

Title: Hello?
Author: Liza Wiemer
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Release Date: November 15, 2015

One HELLO? can change a life. One HELLO? can save a life.

Tricia: A girl struggling to find her way after her beloved grandma's death.
Emerson: A guy who lives his life to fulfill promises, real and hypothetical.
Angie: A girl with secrets she can only express through poetry.
Brenda: An actress and screenplay writer afraid to confront her past.
Brian: A potter who sets aside his life for Tricia, to the detriment of both.

Linked and transformed by one phone call, Hello? weaves together these five Wisconsin teens' stories into a compelling narrative of friendship and family, loss and love, heartbreak and healing, serendipity, and ultimately hope.

Told from all five viewpoints: narration (Tricia), narration (Emerson), free verse poetry (Angie), screenplay format (Brenda), narration and drawings (Brian).

Sunday Discussion: Ode to Jodi Meadows

Every Sunday I take a new bookish topic and discuss.  Have an idea for a discussion post?  Just leave a comment below or email me at christinathebookreader@gmail.com.

This is quite possibly the best post ever.  Seriously.

Review: Soundless by Richelle Mead

Title: Soundless
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: November 10, 2015

For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever...

NaNoWriMo Update

It's November! You know what that means. Writing, writing, and more writing.  Now that the first week of NaNo is almost over, I'd like to share an update on my progress.

October Wrap-Up

Oh my gosh. October went by far to quickly.  So I guess I'll just dive right in!

Any big updates this month?  Well I had a huge bubble of inspiration hit for a new project.  I'll be working on multiple things now for NaNo, so should be fun.


What I received this month

I bought Ice Like Fire (actually it was a birthday gift that finally came in lol) and Illuminae.

For review, I receved The Mirror King (more to come on this) and Fairmist

And I received an ARC of Asunder through #booksfortrade. YAY!

Waiting on Wednesday (33) Glass Sword

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...

Review: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton

Title: Rarity from the Hollow
Author: Robert Eggleton
Publisher: Dog Horn Publishing
Release Date: March 6, 2012

Lacy Dawn is a little girl who lives in a magical forest where all the trees love her and she has a space alien friend who adores her and wants to make her queen of the universe. What’s more, all the boys admire her for her beauty and brains. Mommy is very beautiful and Daddy is very smart, and Daddy’s boss loves them all.

Except.

Lacy Dawn, the eleven year old protagonist, perches precariously between the psychosis of childhood and the multiple neuroses of adolescence, buffeted by powerful gusts of budding sexuality and infused with a yearning to escape the grim and brutal life of a rural Appalachian existence. In this world, Daddy is a drunk with severe PTSD, and Mommy is an insecure wraith. The boss is a dodgy lecher, not above leering at the flat chest of an eleven-year-old girl.

Yes, all in one book.

It is a children's story for adults with a happily ever after ending.

Sunday Discussion: On Writing

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

This week I want to talk about what I'm writing.