Book Haul/In My Mailbox 30/08/14

Booking Through Thursday 28/08/2014

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

Any books or authors you hate? Why? Is it the writing? The stories? The author’s personality? And—would you read their work anyway?

This is a tough question.
I would never say I hate an author- I don't know them so hate is such a strong word and I don't think it fair to say that.

It's rare for me to 'hate' a book.  It might not be for me, but I try to find a positive, and it's also rare for me to say to someone or to my blog readers 'Don't read this it's terrible' as just because it's not for me, doesn't mean it won't be amazing for someone else.

But, of course there have been some books I've really disliked.

Either the writing is pretentious, or the characters are weak, or there's numerous pet peeves- such as weak heroines, cheating, love triangles, etc, etc.

It definitely makes me think twice about reading a book by that author again, and I would say in a review why it wasn't for me.
But I might try a book by them again in the future.

W...W...W...Wednesday 27/08/14

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 Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire.

I recently finished reading The Walking Dead vol. 2

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

 

Teaser Tuesday 26/08/14 'Walking Disaster'

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 Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire.

Teaser comes from page 269.

 

"For reasons I couldn't pinpoint, my nerves were shit.  I'd already taken a couple of swigs of whiskey to try to settle my ass down, but it was no use.

I stared at my wrist, hoping whatever ominous feeling I had was just a false alarm."

 

Tied With Me (With Me In Seattle #6) by Kristen Proby

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 2449 KB
Print Length: 264 pages
Publisher: Ampersand Publishing (18 Mar 2014)
ASIN: B00IWYXUEE

"At once wildly sensual and heart-clutchingly tender, this series gets better with every book." - Christina Lauren, New York Times Bestselling authors of BEAUTIFUL BASTARD

A man whose lifestyle is so different from her own…

Nic Dalton’s cupcake bakery is thriving. She serves both rock stars and locals alike, content with her growing business. But one adventurous night out with her best friend, Bailey, turns her life upside down. She meets a handsome stranger who makes her skin sizzle and her heart race. Their one night together is explosive and unexpected, but when he has to suddenly leave without taking her phone number, Nic resigns herself to never seeing him again.

…What will it take to trust and submit to his every desire?

Matt Montgomery is one of Seattle’s finest. He works hard, loves and protects his family fiercely, and is loyal almost to a fault.

And he has a penchant for bondage.

Matt enjoys the way a woman looks wrapped up in his ropes, and makes no apologies for his preferences. When he meets Nic at a fetish festival, the small, beautiful woman catches his eye, drawing him to her. His one night with her was everything he’s ever looked for in a partner, but is cut short because of a family emergency. Even before he sees her again weeks later, he knows he’ll never get her out of his system.
And he’ll do whatever it takes to make her his.

“Give in to this, Nic. Let me prove to you that I will be one of the best decisions you ever make.” –Matt Montgomery.

Cover:  I like this cover.  I like that it's similar to the other covers in the series, and yet is that little bit different.  The male model is close to how I imagine Matt would be, but don't think the female model is a match for Nic.  At all.

This series is one that's definitely hit or miss for me.  There have been those I've loved, and those that have just been ok.
This one...was ok for me.
I enjoyed it.  It was a nice, quick little read.
My biggest issue was the speed with which Matt and Nic not only jumped into bed together, but the whole 'love' and 'romance'.
I wish it had developed and built more slowly.
The implied dominance and kink, was very mild, and I appreciated that.  I didn't want anything too heavy or dark.
Over all it was a great little read, and if you've read the previous books in the series, will be one you want to check out.
3.5/5 stars.

Bookshelf Tour/Overview August 2014

Booking Through Thursday 21/08/14

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

 

Do you read mystery novels? If so, why? Is it the mysteries themselves that appeal to you? The puzzle-solving? The murders? Or why don’t you read them? What about them doesn’t appeal?

Mystery is a genre that I don't really read.  It's not because I hate them per say, they just don't seem to appeal to me.  If I read the synopsis of one, and ooooohed and ahhhhhed, then I would pick it up in no time.
But they just don't.
If anyone would like to suggest some in the comments, I'd love to know.

Upside Down by Lia Riley

Received for review
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 683 KB
Print Length: 224 pages
Publisher: Piatkus (5 Aug 2014)
ASIN: B00LV9AEEQ

If You Never Get Lost, You’ll Never Be Found

Twenty-one-year-old Natalia Stolfi is saying goodbye to painful memories—and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she’ll pretend to be a carefree exchange student. Everything is going to plan until she meets a surly surfer with hypnotic green eyes, and the troubling ability to see straight through her act.

Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he slunk back to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He’s never wanted anyone the way he wants Talia. A single semester abroad won’t cover something this serious. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once-in-a-lifetime . . . or if there’s a plane to California with her name on it.

Cover: Pretty, romantic New Adult cover.

This is a difficult one for me to review.  There were aspects I really liked, and others, not so much.

I found the author's sense of humor difficult to connect to and just 'get'; I spent a while to get a joke, and then almost eye rolling at the imaturity of them.  Talia just came across as immature.

The beginning was a little dodgey.  It was all over the place.  I had trouble understanding what was going on.   It skipped rapidly before I could understand anything and just left me confused and needing to re-read lines.  It seemed to jump from scene to scene, place to place, character to character.
I wish the book could have had a better start.

Also,  the majority of the book is in Talia's perspective, and then for a few chapters we have Bran's POV.  I wanted more of Bran's perspective.

I liked the premise, and the over all plot.  Wished we had seen more of Bran as I didn't feel we actualy got to know that much about him.

Overall, nothing to get overly excited about, but still a cute and fluffy read for when you're in the mood for that sort of thing.  And I would definitely pick up the next book.

3/5 stars.

Waiting On Wednesday 20/08/14 'Heir of Fire'

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

This week the book I'm waiting to be released is Heir of Fire bySarah J. Maas, book 3 in one of my all time favourite series.  I have actually already this through NetGalley, but I can't wait to have the finished hardback edition to match the others.
Released September 2nd.
 

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

W...W...W...Wednesday 20/08/14

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 Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

I recently finished reading Seducing Lauren by Kristen Proby

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

 

Teaser Tuesday 19/08/14 'Lola and the Boy Next Door'

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 Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins.

Teaser comes from page 176.

"I'm encouraging him.  And I can't stop.

Why can't I stop?

I press my palm against the front door, and my forehead comes to rest against it, too.  I listen to his footsteps descend on the other side."

 

Divergent - Movie Thoughts

I desperately wanted to see Divergent at the cinema, but alas, I had to wait for the DVD.

It was well worth the wait.

Divergent was a fantastic movie, as well as a fantastic book to movie adaptation.

I love the book.  I read it after The Hunger Games, but actually preferred it.  It easily became a favourite read.  So I was both anticipating and dreading the movie.  So I was so pleased that it actually met those expectations.

I think it was a very faithful adaptation, and it's the movie I imagined it was as I read the book, if that makes sense.

Tris was a great, strong female lead.  I really rooted for her.

Four- when I first saw the casting for Four, I wasn't sold.  I was completely won over by him.  I think he was an excellent Four- completely swoon worthy and kick ass.  Love him.

5/5 stars!!!

#FridayReads 15/08/2014

Booking Through Thursday 14/08/14

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

I’ve always considered that my bookcases give a pretty fair representation of me as a person—they show my interests, what kind of things I like, that I have a curious mind, the kinds of things I study … all that. But with the increase of e-books, that litmus test of personality is going by the wayside. Unless someone takes my Kindle and browses through it, there isn’t an immediate, visible display of my interests … am I the only one who finds that kind of sad? Going forward, about the most we’ll be able to tell about someone is that they OWN an e-book reader … but no real idea of what they actually read. I’m going to miss that.

I have to admit that I love looking at people's bookshelves.
To be honest, do I think my bookshelf gives people an idea about my personality??
Not really.
I have such a mix on my shelves, all it shows is that I freaking love reading and enjoy a range of classics, young adult, middle grade, romance, contemporary.

Waiting On Wednesday 13/08/14 'The Gentleman Rogue'

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.
This week the book I'm waiting to be released is The Gentleman Rogue by Margaret McPhee, one of my all time favourite Regency Romance authors.
Released August 19th.

Inescapable, undeniable and impossible to resist! 

In a Mayfair ballroom, beautiful Emma Northcote stands in amazement. For gazing at her, with eyes she'd know anywhere, is Ned Stratham—a man whose roguish charm once held her captivated. 

But that was another life in another part of London. 

With their past mired in secrets and betrayal, and their true identities now at last revealed, Ned realizes they can never rekindle their affair. For only he knows that they share a deeper connection—one that could make Emma hate him if she ever discovered the truth…. 

W...W...W...Wednesday 13/08/14

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 Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick.

I recently finished reading Upside Down by Lia Riley.

I think my next read will be Seducing Lauren by Kristen Proby.

 

Teaser Tuesday 12/08/14 'The Silver Linings Playbook'

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 The Silver Linings Playbook by Mathew Quick.
Teaser comes from page 120.





"That night I try to read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.  Nikki used to talk about how important Plath's novel is, saying, "Every young woman should be forced to read The Bell Jar."  I had Mom check it out of the library, mostly because I want to understand women so I can relate to Nikki's feelings and what not."

Loving Ellie by Lindsey Brookes

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 429 KB
Print Length: 251 pages
ASIN: B00ID76BQO

Ellie Sanders is pregnant and alone. Carrying a child she’d conceived the one and only time she’d lain with her closest friend, Jarrett Tanner. A man she’d agreed to marry for the sake of their child. A man she’d loved, but not as he’d deserved. And now he was gone.

Lucas Tanner returns home to settle his younger brother Jarrett’s estate only to discover his brother left behind a very pregnant fiancée. Having lost his own wife and their baby she’d been carrying years before, he’s bound and determined to stick around and make sure Ellie’s child makes it safely into the world. Even if it means facing the ghosts of his past.

Struggling financially and emotionally, Ellie is torn between keeping her baby and giving it up for adoption. She wants to give her child the chance she never had - to be raised by two loving parents. If only she could make Lucas understand. And, if only she wasn’t falling for a man with no heart left to give.

Lucas finds himself wanting more. Wanting Ellie. But what if he gives in to his deepening feelings and loses her, too?

One fears abandonment. The other fears loss. Can Ellie and Lucas put their painful pasts behind them and finally find true happiness? Or are the emotional walls they’ve built up around their hearts too strong to tear down?Cover: A typical, cutesy romantic contemporary cover that I like.

This is one that I requested on NetGalley on a bit of a whim.  I like to pick up, quick, light, fluffy contemporary reads every now and then.
This for me, wasn't necessarily bad, but it just wasn't enthralling or gripping in anyway.  It was bland when I compare it to other adult romance authors I enjoy like Bella Andre or Kristen Proby.
I didn't feel any chemistry or connection between Lucas and Ellie.  The random plotline with the sheriff Blaine and his ex Victoria came out of nowhere.  Did nothing.
Over all, just didn't love this one.
2/5 stars.

Book Haul/In My Mailbox 08/08/14

Booking Through Thursday 07/08/14

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

 

When you visit a friend’s house, do you find time to browse their bookcases? Does it shock you if they don’t have one?

I always check out people's bookshelves.  Looking to see if they have any of the same books I do, see what they're into, how they organise it etc.
I wouldn't say it shocks me if people don't have one, but I kiind of always expect one.

Waiting On Wednesday 06/08/14 'Isla and the Happily Ever After'

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 Isla and The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins.  I just want to note; I hate the cover change for this series.  Hate that the third book will now not match my editions of the previous two.
Release August 14th.

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.

W...W...W...Wednesday 06/08/14

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 A Dark and Brooding Gentleman by Margaret McPhee.

I recently finished reading Relentless Liberation by L.J. Fine.

I think my next read will be Upside Down by Lia Riley.

 

Teaser Tuesday 05/08/14 'A Dark and Brooding Gentleman

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 A Dark and Brooding Gentleman by Margaret McPhee. Teaser comes from page 165.                            "I have...' He tried again.  'I feel...'  But he could not form the words.  'It is none of it as you think, McEwan.  I would not hurt her.  I...'  Again the words trailed off.  Hunter felt his friend's eyes scrutinising him, seeing too much."

Vampire Academy- Movie Thoughts

Vampire Academy didn’t get a cinema release here in the UK- it came straight to dvd on the 14^th of August.

Despite having heard various negative things, and the movie’s general lack of cinema success.

But…I actually really enjoyed it.

I think- most likely because I hadn’t read the book.  I’d tried to- years before, but just didn’t get into it.  I must have read about 10 pages. 

It was little cheesy in places, and you could definitely tell if from the same director as Mean Girls.

It also felt a little over edited in places, particularly in the beginning.  It made it feel very choppy.  The dialogue was also a bit stilted in places- particularly at the start.

I loved Rose’s character- she was funny, kick ass with a smart mouth.

Lissa- slightly cringier acting, particularly in scenes with Christian.

Dimitri- I also seem to be alone in this, but I found him extremely attractive in this movie.  That accent!  I loved it!

When he says ‘Roza’. –DIED!

Over all-is it the best movie ever? No.

But- I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.  And it made me want to pick up the pick and give it another go.

I hope the sequel is made.  Twilight was not the best book to movie adaptation, but, they got better.

Vampire Academy should have the same chance.

4/5 stars.