Stacking the Shelves

This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!


I had a pretty decent week, one upset came along when I thought I was ordering a book that I already owned--but with a NEW cover--instead I received the same old book with the same old cover that I already owned! The picture on the website WAS the NEW one and yet I got the OLD one!

So yeah, massive upset there! In the process of working out a return at the time of this post!


But on the brighter side of things! Here's the new books that I did get!

From the publisher/authors I received for review:

The Gifted Dead by Jenna Black (ARC)

Dire by Alyssa Rose Ivy (ARC)

Bring Me a Dream by Erin Kellison--already read, reviewed, and loved!

Invisible by Dawn Metcalf (ARC)

Red Blooded by Amanda Carlson (ARC)

Thank You Jenna, Alyssa, Erin, Fire Flower Publishing, LLC, Harlequin Teen, Orbit, & Netgalley!!

Then a book I bought was:

Stone Cold Lover by Christine Warren--true I still need to read the first one (and finish The Others series) but I couldn't pass up the deal I got on it! It was like $5.50!! 
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman--a bargain find at Half Priced Books! And then there's another 20% discount on top that!
Bite Me by Christopher Moore--another HPB find! I read the first 2 books in this series years ago and this became an impulse buy!
 Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini--keeper copy!

 

Bookmarks from HPB! The Disney Princesses (older style!)
An angel statue I swear I've seen somewhere...maybe Savannah or Charleston? NOLA?
A Tinkerbell--because there's never too many of those!
and the final one...Eat. Sleep. Read. (Life is simple!! this was my only successful item from the dreaded BAM purchase)

And that was my haul! What did you get?

Top 5 Sundays

Top 5 Sundays is a weekly blog meme created by Larissa at Larissa and Friends' Bookish Life.

 Every Sunday I will post a TOP 5 list on the blog. It can be about anything and every week I'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on my left sidebar!} and I will ad the Mr.Linky bellow the post so you can do a list with the theme and add you link to it.

Rules:
1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Feel free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)
4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)

This week's topic is: Favorite Book Couples {Part 3}

*in no particular order

Can't seem to find both previous couples post, possible that I didn't do one of them...but here we go!

ALICE & COLE

Alice in Zombieland series by Gena Showalter

 I always find it sad when I like the YA couples a lot! But I blame it all on not being able to read these kinds of books as a teen myself! All I had to read were contemps. :/ Alice and Cole are definite faves! They have their issues, but they work through them!

MARY ANN & RILEY

Intertwined series by Gena Showalter

Yes, another YA and another Gena Showalter book! And ironically, this is sort of the secondary couple, ie: not the ones on the cover! And I pick these to torture myself in a way...I loved Mary Ann and Riley! Mary Ann was sort of the quite type girl and Riley was the hunky werewolf rebel...le sigh...I NEED this series to be concluded! It's currently NOT! SO BUY THESE BOOKS PEOPLE!

SYDNEY & ADRIAN

Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead

Apparently more YA couples are coming to mind! But seriously, how can you not love Sydney and Adrian?! I love how far Adrian has come and found happiness with Sydney!

MERIT & ETHAN

Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill

Another fave couple! I loved how these two have grown! Merit couldn't stand Ethan in the beginning and oh how they love one another now! Sure there's still issues every now and then, but like many couples, they work through them!

KITA & NATHANIEL

Haven series by Kalayna Price

I loooooooooooooooooooooooooove this series! It was one of the very first review books I received for my blog and I just ate them up! Dying for the third one, but it keeps getting delayed. :( But I love how Kita and Nathaniel are a couple that's taking time to grow! They weren't fully there last time if I recall, it was complicated...I just need the third book asap!

A Poll for You!!

Hey all! If you look to the right of my blog, you'll notice a poll! The Spooktacular Giveaway Blog Hop is coming up soon and I plan on having a giveaway again (for the US followers only, sorry!) and I was wondering what book to put into the goodie bag!

I thought of a few titles and I thought I would let you ALL decide! So go ahead and vote and I will pick the book up and add it into the mix for the giveaway come October!



EDIT: I had to re-post the poll, as I noticed a typo that was driving me bonkers! I always type too fast apparently! I had one vote for Dracula and I unfortunately lost that vote when I had to re-post the poll. So if you have voted for Dracula, please re-vote again! I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience!

Mini Review--Bring Me a Dream by Erin Kellison

The madman and the nightmare…

Vincent Blackman is a little…unhinged. He recently fought a nightmare from the world Darkside and won. Now he fears nothing and wants revenge on the man who had his father brutally murdered. And how convenient to find an ally in Mirren Lambert, his enemy’s gorgeous and sexy daughter. Unfortunately, she’s made a few enemies of her own.

She might be a nightmare, but she’s also his ultimate fantasy.

Mirren was born half human, half nightmare. She was on the run from her ruthless father, but when he abducted her young son, she knew he had to be stopped once and for all. Dangerous Vincent is just who she needs to help her, though she has a perilous part to play as well, infiltrating her father’s circles to discover his secrets. They learn something dark is stirring in the dreamwaters, and it’s reaching toward the waking world. Vincent might be holding on to the last of his sanity, but that’s okay, as long as he holds on even tighter to her.

Bring Me A Dream is the fifth installment in the Reveler serial, a hot paranormal romance set in a world where shared dreaming is a new pop culture phenomenon that allows people to indulge their wildest fantasies. But there are also unknown dangers Darkside; nightmares are slowly infiltrating not only dreams, but the waking world as well. And behind them all is a shadowy entity called the Sandman.

Revel with me.

I received this ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


Erin Kellison's Reveler series just keeps getting better and better! In Bring Me a Dream, we follow Mirren and Vincent, characters that weren't altogether good from the getgo, but we learn more about them and realize that they are not so evil after all!

Vincent and Mirren work together in order to put an end to Lambert, who in turn is Mirren's father. But he's an evil man and Mirren wants him dead just as much as Vincent...and everyone else it seems! But when getting outside help from a few of our favorite people, they realize they must go after the elusive Sandman first. And that is going to be a little more difficult than they think since he's basically a legend.

I read this one with a pounding headache as I started to get a cold for the lovely Labor Day weekend--that's always fun! So my memory of things is a bit clouded when trying to bring up recollections, but for the most part, this was an enjoyable story! Probably moreso because we are dealing with slightly "villainous" people. But even in the last one we knew that Vincent wasn't necessarily evil...he's just goes a bit mad every now and then from his imprisonment time. Mirren is another story though as she was sort of a villain-like person in the last one, but as I said, we now have these characters being the opposite. Mirren really just wants to keep her son safe from her own father and will go to any length to achieve that.

Naturally, romance sparks between Mirren and Vincent. We already saw hints of this last time as well. I enjoyed their romance, while in some lengths it was a sudden thing, it still took some time to develop. Which as you all know, is something I always like!

This was another quick and exciting read in the Reveler series that is one of my most favorite novella series of all time! The ending was kind of shocking and in no way is this series done yet! I am anxiously looking forward to the next installment of the series!



Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

Follow Friday

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:
 

1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts and any one else you want to follow on the list  

2. Follow our Featured Bloggers  
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.  
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments  
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can  
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers 
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!  
8. If your new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

This week's question is: Tell us about a book character you’d trade places with…via Escaping within Pages 

MY ANSWER: Ooh tough one! While lots of the heroines I enjoy seem to have a lot going for them, they also have a lot of crap happen to them too! A lot of pain, sorrow, and other horrors done to them, so it's kind of tough. Which one suffers the least? Which one has the super hot guy I wouldn't mind having at my side? ;)

The answer is:  Cat from Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress Series. The main reason, naturally, is Bones!

Random Thursday

So time for some more Jaws fun facts!

In the beginning of the movie, we "are the shark" as it approaches its first victim, Chrissie aka Susan Backline. We see her being brutally toyed with being dragged back and forth through the water.

In order to do that, two 300 pound weights were attached to Susan and were tugged by two sets of crewmen, one pulling left, one pulling right. This "little" scene took 3 days to film!

It's said that the pain on her face is real, because the frame she was strapped to supposedly broke her ribs, but she denied this in interviews. So who's to say?!

Stay tune for next week where I tell you more secrets about the movie that scared people out of the water! (Muwhahaha!) ;)

Review--Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard

An ancient evil has risen over Egypt.

It has been a tumultuous time for Eleanor Fitt since life as she knew it in Philadelphia came abruptly to an end. While the Spirit-Hunters--Joseph, Jie, and Daniel--have helped her survive her brother's violent death and an invasion of the Hungry Dead, Eleanor has lost just about everything.

And now, Jie is missing--taken by the evil necromancer Marcus. Eleanor is determined not only to get her back but to end this nightmare altogether. But to do so, she must navigate the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt amid the rising Dead, her unresolved feelings for Daniel, and her volatile relationships with Joseph and Oliver, her demon. And it won't be easy. Because now Allison, her friend from Philadelphia, has tagged along, becoming strangely entangled in Eleanor's mission.

It will take all of Eleanor's powers of black magic, and all of Daniel's and Joseph's trust, to succeed. But there will be a price. And only when it is over will Eleanor truly be able to live a strange and ever after life.

In the conclusion to this epic trilogy, which began with SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY and continued with A DARKNESS STRANGE AND LOVELY, Susan Dennard will have readers on the edge of their seats, breathless with anticipation, and begging for this story not to end.

Strange and Ever After is the breathtaking conclusion to the Something Strange and Deadly trilogy by Susan Dennard, and never have I ever had sooooooo many feels in one book! I mean really, there were all over the place and I was a wreck the entire book with my heart racing and pounding in my chest, I wreck I tell you!

All from page 1, we are subjected to the shocks and feels! Eleanor learns of shocking news and it puts her in a bad place. But soon, she must push aside those feelings because there's an enemy to contend with, Marcus. It's time to end the battle once and for all, but there will be much more to deal with before we can get to that!

Where to begin without drifting into spoiler territory? There was soooo much to this novel, I really was a wreck from page 1. You did not want to be near me during this time, and I am still in the shocking woes or whatever feels you want to call my reaction to how everything ended! I was slightly prepared based on other reviews, but still, one can never be prepared for shock after shock!

I will forever love these characters! Not only was Eleanor the character that just kept on growing, from being someone I almost feared for to a girl who totally became the heroine to save the day! She struggles with controlling her powers instead of the other way around, but she always remains true to herself and not what others expect her to be.

Jie, Joseph, and Daniel remain forever astounding secondary characters, and Oliver even joins in the mix too. I had my suspicions about him last time around, but I am glad to know I was wrong. Even by the end of A Darkness Strange and Lovely I knew I was initially wrong about Oliver. All these characters continued to grow as well, bending their initial beliefs and standards to what is right in front of them. Sure, Joseph and Daniel berated Eleanor for her use of her powers, but as time moved along, they grew to accept her--again within A Darkness Strange and Lovely we began to see this, although there are always moments of doubts. It's always about Baby Steps--as Bob taught us! *winks*

And the romance, oh Daniel and Eleanor! I truly love their romance! It was one that took time to grow and fully develop. It seemed like there was always something standing between them, but finally they have come to accept one another, and it was lovely!

When people tell you how they feel after reading a book, those thoughts intrude on you as you read. And this is basically what had my heart pumping this entire novel! And it did not ease one bit! Seriously, I had to take breaks in between writing this review to calm my nerves and not utter something forbidden! You know I would never do that to you! This definitely made reading this one a fast paced-read, for I had to know what was going to happen! 

The ending was truly shocking and re-memorable. I will leave it at that! But yeah, there's no way one can forget that kind of impact!

I don't know how to feel now! I am a mix of emotions now that this series is over! Binge reading can sometimes do that to me, as I did with this one! Other times I've binged read and had to wait for the last book to come out, like I did with another series just this year and am still waiting for its final book! Now I find I don't know what to do with myself and my feels! There are other review books awaiting, so I cannot let the feels distract me for long, but I will let things simmer for the rest of the evening and just digest.

Susan Dennard has truly written a whirlwind of a trilogy here and I am pleased and happy to have read it! I will definitely be keeping her on my auto-buy list from now on! 


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

 

Waiting on Wednesday

I hate waiting...

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.

What lies beneath…

Clare Cermak’s adjusting to a new man in her life—and a lot of ghosts. The passing of Clare’s aunt gave way to a sizeable inheritance of not only money, but also the ability to communicate with the dead. At the same time, she met Zach Slade, a private detective with a rough past, and just like Clare, he’s not yet ready to accept her gift—or his own.

But Clare has another matter to look into. A multimillionaire needs her help after relocating an old ghost town to his mountain estate. The bones of a murdered prospector are making nightly appearances in his guests’ beds. When the gold miner’s ghost contacts Clare, she promises to help find the name of his killer—but someone doesn't want the past revealed and might find her first…

Another one where I still need to read the first one, this being the second in the series. But I am having high hopes for it! I feel like I'm always on the lookout for a good ghost book!

TITLE: Ghost Layer
AUTHOR: Robin D. Owens
PUBLISHER: Berkley
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: September 2, 2014

Dragons, demons, gods, gorgons. Who will save the world…and who could destroy it?

Latter-Day Olympians, Book 4
 
Tori wakes after Rise of the Blood to two very shocking realizations: one, she’s in bed with a very naked Apollo, having lost the fight to resist their attraction. Two, she still has her wings. Not dinky little fairy wings. Full-scale, cover-’em-with-a-trench-coat bat wings.

Apollo suggests consulting the Gray Sisters on the wings. Those cannibalistic, psychopathic oracles who, even with only one tooth and one eye among them, manage to see too much. As in a Rapture, zombie-apocalypse, biblical-plague, hellgates-busted-open the end of the world. 

While the Sisters are perfectly on board with death and destruction, the thinning of the human herd doesn’t sit well with them at all. They’ll help her. All she has to do is save the world.

Tori and her team trace the origin of the plagues to New York City, which is under quarantine and martial law—as if that’s enough to stop the influx of gods and gorgons, dragons and demons. But as death threatens from without, betrayal lurks within Tori’s ranks. And nobody is safe. Nobody.

Warning: Betrayal and bad-assery, sensuality and a sizzling hot sun god. Death, demons, destruction and, potentially, the end of the world as we know it…zombie style.

Ohhh I am sooo excited for this one! Discovered this series just last year and ate up the first three! So game for this one!

TITLE: Battle for Blood
AUTHOR: Lucienne Diver
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: September 16, 2014

Review--A Darkness Strange and Lovely by Susan Dennard

Darkness has come to the City of Lights...

After helping the Spirit-Hunters save Philadelphia from the walking Dead, Eleanor Fitt must no face the things she couldn't stop: her brother's death, her mother's deteriorating health, and the sting of unrequited love. But when she encounters the necromancer Marcus, again, she must seek the help of Joseph, Jie, and the gorgeous Daniel--who have all fled to Paris.

On her way to France, Eleanor meets Oliver, who claims to have known her brother. Though friendly, Oliver harbors a secret involving black magic that entices Eleanor. Trying to resist it, she rejoins the Spirit-Hunters in hopes of stopping Marcus.

But the Dead have taken over Paris and there's a whole new evil lurking. Eleanor is now forced to make a dangerous decision--and her choice could mean life or death for everyone.

Susan Dennard continues the adventures of Eleanor Fitt in A Darkness Strange and Lovely. Ever since the Spirit Hunters left, things haven't been going well for Eleanor. She had to sell nearly everything she owned in order to pay for her mother's hospital stay, as she went a bit mad after Eleanor told her things regarding her brother Elijah--while omitting particular details--, her best friend has shunned her and basically, everything is just going wrong for her. Then there's the start of the book where she has a chance encounter with Marcus and it spurs her to quickly flee to Paris and join the Spirit Hunters.

While on route to Paris, she meets Oliver who claims to be be a friend of her brother's. And don't worry, he in no way becomes a possible romantic interest for Eleanor like I thought, for he has a secret or two that would make this not at all a good idea. But Eleanor is leery of trusting a stranger, despite him being a friend of her brother's.

There was a lot of tension in this one! Far more than what we saw in the first book. Eleanor's powers are growing stronger and her own mind is changing slightly with this growth. The powers are getting to her, possibly and she's becoming a different person than we initially saw. Whether these changes will be for good or not has yet to be determined.

It was great fun seeing the Spirit Hunters again, especially our favorite, Daniel! Daniel has changed since we last saw him and one can't help but wonder why. Especially since he declared that he didn't love Eleanor when asked last go around. But if the reader puts their mind to it, you can easily guess the reasons for the changes. And it's endearing in some aspects, yet I still miss our rowdy, somewhat rude, yet open Daniel. Luckily, he slips out every now and then!

The romance between Daniel and Eleanor was still sweet, yet they have more challenges facing them this go around. It seems almost impossible for them to come to terms on these challenges and just be together, but luckily, we have one more book to get through!

This storyline had more Dead wreaking havoc on Paris, and the gang must find whoever it is controlling them and put an end to it all. But that's easier said then done. Plus, there's still Marcus to contend with and other spoilery events that need resolving!

The ending is definitely a bit more cliffhangery than the first one as well. We have more danger afoot and there's still some unresolved tension in the midst. Who's to say how everything will all wrap-up in the final end? I cannot wait to see everything played out because as well all know, this third installment is the finale and the big bad guy must still go down! 

A Darkness Strange and Lovely will delight readers as much as Something Strange and Deadly did, if not more! It's turning out to be one engaging zombie series that I am ever so glad I decided to read!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Here are the rules:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc

"'You're on the bloody promenade deck--you almost walked off the edge.' My eyes widened, and the contents of my stomach rose into my throat--because Oliver was right. 

Three feet from my face was the railing.

And below that was the roiling, gray sea." p 82

TITLE: A Darkness Strange and Lovely
AUTHOR: Susan Dennard
PUBLISHER: Harper Teen
GENRE: Paranormal YA
RELEASE DATE: July 23, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

This week's topic is: Top Ten Books I Really Want To Read But Don't Own Yet

*in no particular order

Some of these, if not most, are making their way onto my Birthday/Christmas list (2 holidays, 1 month!)! And these are all books that are out now!

 1. The Merciless by Danielle Vega--sounds like a good creepy read and reviews were good, so I want it!

2. Fairest of them All by Serena Valentino--an inside story of the Evil Queen? Hells yeah! (this was pre-Maleficent, but same concept!)

3. The Beast Within by Serena Valentino--a kind of prequel to who the Beast was when he was the prince!

4. Neverland by Anna Katmore--a grownup version of Peter Pan, thought it sounded intriguing! Another love story with Captain Hook!

5. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll--seen this one around and it sounds like an intriguing graphic novel of stories! Plus pictures! And it's like creepy fairy tales, so gotta love that!

6. Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz--haven't read this author since her Blue is for Nightmares days, but this one sounds creepy and I like the creepy! ;)

7. The Mythology of Supernatural by Nathan Robert Brown--I think this one sounds awesome! It basically has the supernatural legends and lore behind all the creepy things they've hunted!

8. Four Houses by Victoria Scott--still need to buy this. Had entered a contest so long ago to win one, but lost and totally forgot to buy for myself!

9. A Shade of Blood by Bella Forrest--I read the first one in this series and liked it. Sure there were some things I disliked, but I do want to read the rest of the series, which is another 6 books!

10. Indelible by Dawn Metcalf--somehow just stumbled onto this one and it sounds kinda exciting! Might need to get it soon!