Thursday, June 30, 2016

ALA Weekend Wrap-up!

As stated previously....

I was at ALAAC16 this past weekend.  So I would like to share with you guys a nice wrap-up of some awesome things from there.

Note: I also did a TTT post featuring my top ten moments, so those will not be included here.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday (56) Scythe

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

This week, I want to share...

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday

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

This week was a freebie theme, so since I just got back from ALAAC16, I thought I would do Top Ten Moments from ALA!

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Review: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passenger (Passenger, #1)Title: Passenger
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: January 5, 2016

Passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.

Friday, June 24, 2016

ALAAC16!

Just a heads up, I'll be out of town this weekend for ALA in Orlando.

I'll still likely be all over the twittersphere and stuffs.  But if you're going, you should come find me and say hi!

When I get back, I'll work on an ALA wrap-up post. :D

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday (55) The Reader

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

This week, I'm waiting on...

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday

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

This week's theme is Top Ten favorite 2016 releases so far...

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Review: And I Darken by Kiersten White

And I DarkenTitle: And I Darken
Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: June 28, 2016

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL.

And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Awesome Animals in Books

We all love our pets (or so I hope).  So it can be easy to fall in love with a book animal.  Today, I want to share some of my favorite animals and pets from books.

I'm excluding from this list shifters, such as werewolves.  That deserves a post all on its own.

Fare warning: Some of these are plot points and contains spoilers.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday

In an attempt to be more upbeat and keep up with things, I'm trying to get back to doing TTT posts.  Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's theme is Top Ten anticipated book releases for the second half of the year.

So without further ado, and in no particular order...

Monday, June 13, 2016

In the wake of the recent Orlando Shootings

As I'm sure you have all heard by now, there have been two shootings in Orlando this past week.  One of them being the deadliest shooting in US history.  This impacts me more than I like to admit, partially because I live in the Orlando area.  And partially on a more personal level.

I've never talked about this before, so I would like to now in the hopes that it can help others.

I am not a teenager anymore.  But I am still confused.

When I was a teenager and before, I was bullied beyond reproach.  It was to the point that I was mentally unstable and ended up in a mental hospital for trying to kill myself.

Yes, there were other factors.  But if you think that many years of bullying didn't have anything to do with my depression, you're very wrong.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Review: Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine

Paper and Fire (The Great Library, #2)Title: Paper and Fire
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: NAL
Release Date: July 5, 2016

In Ink and Bone, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine introduced a world where knowledge is power, and power corrupts absolutely. Now, she continues the story of those who dare to defy the Great Library—and rewrite history…

With an iron fist, The Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion, forbidding the personal ownership of books in the name of the greater good.

Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower and doomed to a life apart.

Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library’s deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London.

But Jess’s home isn’t safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon, Jess must choose between his friends, his family, or the Library willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control…


Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday (54) These Ruthless Deeds

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

Since the title and cover and synopsis were all recently revealed, it only seems right that this week I should be waiting on...

Monday, June 6, 2016

May Wrap-Up

Welcome to my very late May Wrap-up Post!!

I'm not even really sure where to begin.  So... Let's start with things that happened.

Writing
I participated in the #matwritingchallenge.  I didn't do great.  But I did get some stuff done.  And I got to 50k on Spy Project! ðŸŽ‰

It's funny, Spy Project was originally going to be YA, but after a lot of writing, some deliberation, some more writing, and some realization... Well, it will be NA fantasy.  Which is awesome, because NA is such a new genre!

Iron Curse is currently with a beta reader.  I'll probably be looking for another beta reader after I get it back and look through all the notes.  If, for some reason, you're interested in beta reading for me, email me at christinathebookreader@gmail.com and let me know.  It's a YA fantasy tale of fae inspired by the classic Jane Eyre.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

SST Review & Giveaway: The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by Jenn P. Nguyen

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The Way to Game the Walk of ShameTitle: The Way to Game the Walk of Shame
Author: Jenn P. Nguyen
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: June 7, 2016

Taylor Simmons is screwed.

Things were hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen, but after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip.

Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard.


Saturday, June 4, 2016

Review: Consider by Kristy Acevedo

Consider (Holo, #1)Title: Consider
Author: Kristy Acevedo
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Release Date: April 19, 2016

As if Alexandra Lucas’ anxiety disorder isn’t enough, mysterious holograms suddenly appear from the sky, heralding the end of the world. They bring an ultimatum: heed the warning and step through a portal-like vertex to safety, or stay and be destroyed by a comet they say is on a collision course with earth. How’s that for senior year stress?

The holograms, claiming to be humans from the future, bring the promise of safety. But without the ability to verify their story, Alex is forced to consider what is best for her friends, her family, and herself.

To stay or to go. A decision must be made.

With the deadline of the holograms’ prophecy fast approaching, Alex feels as though she is living on a ticking time bomb, until she discovers it is much, much worse.


Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday (53) A Torch Against the Night

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

This week, I'm waiting on...