Booking Through Thursday 31/07/14

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted byBooking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

 

If I could give a brand new, really good book by your favorite author (living or dead) RIGHT NOW, what would you be willing to do for it?

Not quite sure how to answer this question?
Am I supposed to pimp myself for it?
I have no idea.
I admit, a lot of the time I'm impatient for a book, but I pre-order it, and read other books in the mean time.  There's no shortage to choose from in my ever-expanding TBR pile.

W...W...W...Wednesday 30/07/14

To play along, just answer the following 3 questions:

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

My current read is Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines

I recently finished Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

I think my next read will be Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Teaser Tuesday 29/07/14 'Rush Too Far'

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
  Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

 

This week my current read is Rush Too Far by Abbi Glines.  I really enjoyed the Too Far trilogy, so getting to read book 1 in Rush's POV is something I've been looking forward to.

 

Teaser comes from page 157.

 

"That had to be the sweetest thing I'd ever heard.  Kiss me, please.  Fuck, this girl was gonna ruin me.  I wanted her to belong to me.  Her body to know only me.  Completely."

The Forever of Ella and Micha (Ella and Micha #2) by Jessica Sorensen

Received for review.
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Sphere (24 Oct 2013)
ISBN-13: 978-0751552270

Ella and Micha have been through tragedy, heartbreak and love. When they are together, anything seems possible, but now they are thousands of miles apart.

Micha spends the days touring the country with his band, but being away from Ella is harder than he thought. He wants her closer to him - needs her with him. But he won't ask her to leave college, just to be with him. The few moments they do spend together are fleeting and filled with passion. They know they want to be together, but is wanting something enough to get them to their forever?



Cover:  A super cute, romantic cover that I'm such a sucker for.  I love, and appreciate, that the cover matches the first book.

I read The Secret of Ella and Micha last year, and I loved it.  I read it just as I was discovering the New Adult genre.  So I was looking forward to delving into the sequel.
Of course I don't want to give spoilers for those that haven't read the first book.
But I can say, that I enjoyed the sequel, maybe not as much as book one.
Ella's issues of I-love-Micha-but-I-can't-be-with-him-because-I'll-ruin-his-live, grated on my nerves after a while.
I felt there was unresolved, random issues with Micha and his father, that just seemed to hang there.
I do love the chemistry and friendship between them.
Over all, I did enjoy it, but just wished for MORE for Ella and Micha.
4/5 stars.

Unmasking The Duke's Mistress by Margaret McPhee

Publisher:Harlequin

Published:15 November 2011

Format:Paperback 280 pages

ISBN 13: 9780373296699

With trembling hands Arabella dons the mask of Miss Noir for her first night at Mrs. Silver's House of Pleasures. Thinking of her young son, she prepares to smile prettily at the next gentleman who enters….

Dominic Furneaux, Duke of Arlesford, is stunned to see that the woman who shattered his heart has fallen so low. He offers her a way out—by making her his mistress!
The temptation to reacquaint herself with Dominic's body is hard for Arabella to resist, but Dominic needs only to look into the Furneaux-blue eyes of her son to uncover Arabella's deepest secret….

 

Cover: Fairly standard Regency romance cover.  Not my favourite, but there’s nothing to dislike about it.
Margaret McPhee is one of, if not my favourite Regency Romance authors.

Her books The Wicked Earl and Mistaken Mistress are two of my favourite ever, let alone in the Regency genre.

The reason behind the original heartbreak and separation was a little stretched.  A misunderstanding that was so crazy- one of those situations where just talking to each other would have solved the issue long ago.

I really liked both protagonists and wanted them to get their happily ever after.
But it was a cute, fast paced read, that I really enjoyed, but not my favourite.

3.5/5 stars.

#FridayReads 25/07/14

The Fault In Our Stars - Movie Thoughts

I finally managed to get to the cinema to see The Fault In Our Stars…and at the time this goes up- I'll have seen it three times.

I’m so happy with this book-to-movie adaptation.  I read the book in2012, and fell in love with it.  It very quickly became an all time favourite read with a permanent place in my heart.

So naturally, when you hold a book in that much regard- the idea of a movie is both exciting and terrifying.  It will either be a faithful tribute, or a train wreck.

But I’m so happy with it.  It was so true to the book which was so nice to see.

Hazel was just how I imagined her to be.  Shailene Woodley was perfectly cast, and her performance was a pleasure to watch.

When I first saw Ansel Elgort – I was unsure.  It wasn’t how I pictured him.  Then I saw the trailer and I thawed a bit.

Then I saw the movie- and he completely changed my mind.  I fell in love with him.

All.  At.  Once.

He had this cheeky look about him, and he was so funny.  He was actually the perfect Augustus Waters.

I’m genuinely so happy with the adaptation.

Did it make me cry?

No- but I think that may be more that I’m not a crier by nature, let alone in public.

But it did bring a tear to my eye.

Over all- it was beautiful.  So beautiful.  And funny.  And heartbreaking.  And life affirming.

5/5 stars.

Okay.

 

W...W...W...Wednesday 23/07/14

 

To play along, just answer the following 3 questions:

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

 

I'm currently reading Frostbite by Richelle Mead

I recently finished reading Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I think my next read will be Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

See a theme here?

Teaser Tuesday 22/07/14 'Frostbite'

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
  Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

This week my current read is Frostbite by Richelle Mead, book 2 in the Vampire Academy series. 

"I didn't see Dimitri for a while after that.  He'd sent a message later that day saying that he thought we should cancel our next two sessions because of the rapidly approaching plans to leave campus."

Of Triton (The Syrena Legacy #2) by Anna Banks

Hardcover
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (1000)
Language: English
ASIN: B00HRDB0ZC

Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half-Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

Once again, Anna Banks infuses Emma and Galen's points of view with humor, intrigue, and waves of romance.

Cover:  I think this series has some of my favourite covers ever.  I love ALL the covers for this series.  I'm a sucker for cute, romantic cover- and this one is no exception.  And the font is stunning.

After finishing Of Poseidon I had to pick up Of Triton straight away.
I'm really loving this series so far.
The tension and action was wracked up in this one.
It was a shame that it was a little shorter than the first one.  I feel it could have been bulked up just a tad.
Really enjoyed the developing 'gifts' of Poseidon and Triton.
The mythology and undersea adventures were fun and this series just makes me smile.
Perfect summer reads.
I'm looking forward to picking up the third and final book soon.
4.5/5 stars.

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

• Paperback: 291 pages
• Publisher: Poppy Books; Reprint edition (4 Jun 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316084212
• ISBN-13: 978-0316084215

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorcé dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancée and her kids. The fiancée's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great.

Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together. Filled with authenticity and raw emotion, Whitley is Kody Keplinger's most compelling character to date: a cynical Holden Caulfield-esque girl you will wholly care about.

Cover:  I neither love nor hate this cover.  I do however, like the colour scheme of bright pink and lime green on the spine of the book.

I read The Duff by Kody Keplinger, such a long time ago but I LOVED it.  It was such a fun and funny contemporary read with realistic characters I adored.

It's taken me a while to get round to reading A Midsummer's Nightmare.
I thoroughly enjoyed it- but it didn't quite reach the pedestal that is The Duff.

Whitley- I really felt for her.  While sometimes she did come off as a whiney bitch, you could see why she acted the way she did.

The romance element- I wish there had been more of it, as that's just the way I am.  I felt that we didn't really see much of her and Nathan together.

I did enjoy seeing her stepfamily gradually win her over.  Particularly her friendship with her sister-to-be Bailey.  It was super sweet.

The resolution with her father at the end - I feel was a bit anti-climatic and rushed.

Overall, this was a great, quick read.

I love Kody Keplinger's writing, humour and characters.
Definitely recommend.
3.5/5 stars.

Book Haul/In My Mailbox 19.07.14

W...W...W...Wednesday 16/07/14

To play along, just answer the following 3 questions:

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

My current read is The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle.

I recently finished Invincible by Diana Palmer.

I think my next read will be Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

Waiting On Wednesday 16/07/14 'The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty's Prince'

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.

This week the book I'm waiting on is The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty's Prince by Serena Valentino.  Anything Beauty and the Beast related gets my vote!
Released July 22nd.

A cursed prince sits alone in a secluded castle. Few have seen him, but those who claim they have say his hair is wild and nails are sharp--like a beast's! But how did this prince, once jovial and beloved by the people, come to be a reclusive and bitter monster? And is it possible that he can ever find true love and break the curse that has been placed upon him?

Teaser Tuesday 15/07/14 'The Hallowed Ones'

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
  Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

"We have to help him!"
I exploded into my house, soaking wet.  My father was eating lunch in the kitchen and stared at me.  He pushed away from the table, grasped my arms."

14th July BLOGTOUR Harder by Robin York

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Piatkus (1 July 2014)
• ISBN-10: 0349404216
• ISBN-13: 978-0349404219

Caroline still dreams about West. His warm skin, his taut muscles, his hand sliding down her stomach. Then she wakes up and she's back to reality: West is gone. Before he left, he broke her heart.

Then, out of the blue, West calls in crisis. A tragedy has hit his family-a family that's already a fractured mess. Caroline knows what she has to do. Without discussion, without stopping to think, she's on a plane, flying to his side to support him in any way he needs.

Though they are together once more, things are totally different. West looks edgy, angry at the world. Caroline doesn't fit in. She should be back in Iowa, finalizing her civil suit against the ex-boyfriend who posted their explicit pictures on a revenge porn website. But here she is. Deeply into West, wrapped up in him, in love with him. Still.

They fought the odds once. Losing each other was hard. But finding their way back to each other couldn't be harder.


This book is going to be hard for me to review (no pun intended) because it was...well kind of disappointing for me. 
I enjoyed the first book but this book was hard to like.
Particularly West's attitude and actions towards Caroline, attempting to drive her away was just frustrating and cruel at some points.
 One 'scene' in particular that did not sit well with me, which involves him and another, older woman.  I  found it very difficult to like him and forgive him after that, which makes me kinda sad because I thought he was a great male protagonist and love interest for Caroline in book 1.

I did sympathize for him because he had a crap life and wants better for himself and his sister Frankie but doesn't know how to be anything else.  We did get more of his back story, which was definitely something that was lacking in the first book. 
Caroline is one understanding girl. Her love for West runs deep, and she wants to be by his side no matter.  Almost to the point where it got 'ohhh look at me.  I'm such a lovely carpet.  Walk all over me'.

I think my biggest issue, was that this book tried to be all intense, deep, and emotional.  These characters that are starcrossed- just can't be together.
But really, I didn't see WHY they couldn't.  What was stopping them.
I really just didn't see it.

2/5 stars

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: The Borough Press (7 Jan 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 000749145X
ISBN-13: 978-0007491452


I’ll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name’s Simon. I think you’re going to like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he’ll be dead. And he was never the same after that.

The Shock of the Fall is an extraordinary portrait of one man’s descent into mental illness. It is a brave and groundbreaking novel from one of the most exciting new 
voices in fiction.





Cover:  In person, this is a beautiful cover.

This is going to be a tough one for me to review, as I'm left feeling unsure how to sum up this book.
You might think that sounds negative.  It's not.
I just don't want to spoil this for anyone who is tempted to pick it up.
At first I found the writing style a little jarring.  But then, when you take into consideration that it is from the point of a young man suffering from some form of mental illness (we don't know what exactly until further into the book), then it starts to make more sense, and you kind of adapt to reading that way.
From the start you know that Matt's brother died, and in some form of tragic circumstance, but the details are revealed slowly.
I'm not going to lie, there were a few times I teared up.  Seeing how the guilt triggered Matt's mental illness was heartbreaking.
Over all, all I can say is to check this book out.
4.5/5 stars.

Title Words TAG

Teaser Tuesday 08/07/14 'Harder'

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
  Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

This week my current read is Harder by Robin York.  Teaser comes from page 157.


"Maybe I never had a good reason, and I'm just a moron.  Maybe I've always been a moron.  Which raises the question why she'd go to all this trouble to get me back in her life."

[GIVEAWAY] Fateful by Cheri Schmidt

Cheri very kindly offered me a chance to reread Fateful by listening to it, as well as giving me the chance to host a giveway for you guys.

The giveaway is for an Audio copy of Fateful from Audible.com.

All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter form below.

Be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you win.


A huge fan of Jane Austen, Danielle hopes to find her own Mr. Darcy when she leaves Colorado to attend art school in London. Of course she knows it's silly to wish for that, naive even. But she's met enough males who lacked respect for women, a growing trend it seemed. And at nineteen...well.... However, on only her second night there she gets lost and is threatened by a stalker who proves to be immune to her martial arts training. Before she is completely overpowered, she is then saved by Ethan Deveroux. 

While Danielle does find the romance she seeks in Ethan, he's no Mr. Darcy. Her hero is held by a spell which fractures their chance at a happy ending. During the day Ethan is closer to mortal than immortal and can date her like any other man. Yet, as the sun sets, the powerful magic of an ancient curse returns and the evil of that spell is revealed. When that magic begins, Danielle's fairytale romance ends because Ethan Deveroux is a vampire.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

June 2014 Reading Wrap Up

Waiting On Wednesday (On A Thursday! Again!!)

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.
Once again, I apologise for the late post but time just got away from me yesterday.

But, this week the book I'm eagerly anticipating is The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer, book number 3.
I love this middle grade series, and can't wait to continue it.
Released July 8th.

Conner Bailey thinks his fairy-tale adventures are behind him--until he discovers a mysterious clue left by the famous Brothers Grimm. With help from his classmate Bree and the outlandish Mother Goose, Conner sets off on a mission across Europe to crack a two-hundred-year-old code.

Meanwhile, Alex Bailey is training to become the next Fairy Godmother...but her attempts at granting wishes never go as planned. Will she ever be truly ready to lead the Fairy Council?

When all signs point to disaster for the Land of Stories, Conner and Alex must join forces with their friends and enemies to save the day. But nothing can prepare them for the coming battle...or for the secret that will change the twins' lives forever.

The third book in the bestselling Land of Stories series puts the twins to the test as they must bring two worlds together!

W...W...W...Wednesday 02/07/14

To play along, just answer the following 3 questions:

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

 

My current read is Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas.

I recently finished reading Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas.

I think my next read will be Harder by Robin York, as I'm part of the blogtour for the release later this month.