Feb 28, 2015

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: Paranormal Romance Books I'm dying for in 2015!



*in no particular order

Gonna try my best here! I read books I consider Urban Fantasy, but I guess sometimes Paranormal Romance books can be considered the same! I mean I KNOW there are differences, but it's hard knowing which books fall under which category sometimes!

Sadly, nearly all of these don't have covers yet either! So sorry about the lack of pretty! Instead I'll just use the author's photo! Just so you don't see a bunch of blank books 4 times!


DAWN
by Alyssa Rose Ivy

The final installment in the trilogy! I just know it releases this year and I CANNOT wait!! LOVE this series!! And that it connects to her Crescent/Empire Chronicles series is even more awesome!! This one's New Adult, but I definitely say it fits the Paranormal Romance end vs Urban Fantasy end!


SAVOR
by Alyssa Rose Ivy

 No cover for this one, but it's book 4 in the the Empire Chronicles! Another New Adult Paranormal Romance! No release date yet either, but so far Alyssa says it will release this year! So YAY! 


FEVERBORN
by Karen Marie Moning

Another coverless one! I still need to read Burned, but I cannot wait to read either! Or both really! LOVE the Fever series and so happy to see it back! I think this one can be categorized as either either Paranormal Romance or Urban Fantasy. Maybe more UF...but I digress!


ARCHANGEL'S ENIGMA
by Nalini Singh

Another Guild Hunters book? Yes please! I still need to read the last one in this series too! But cannot wait! Definitely think this fits the bill for Paranormal Romance! Love the characters in this series too!


MENAGERIE
by Rachel Vincent

This one might be more Urban Fantasy than Paranormal Romance. I can't be sure yet. Though her other books tended to stray more towards UF than PR. But again, it's another one of those that I can't decide on genre wise and think it could be considered both, but feel like the die hard Paranormal Romance readers might say it's UF. But again, I struggle at this categorizing! Especially if I haven't read it yet! LOL!









Feb 26, 2015

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: Your house is burning down and you have time to select three books you own to take with you. What three books?



MY ANSWER: Who thought of this evil question?! And only three?! PURE EVIL!! Ugh....

I guess I would go with Demon in My View by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Old Magic by Marianne Curley, and Bitten by Kelley Armstrong.

Demon in My View was my first vampire read and my first paranormal read, so I have a special love for it! It would need to come with me, though this and my next copy are ones buried on my closet shelf...


I adored Old Magic! Time traveling, witches, magic, curses, and of course a bit of love! Plus Kate was my first "awkward" heroine. You know the type we see a lot now, the unpopular girl, but she's special in her own way, ie she has magic! That she never used it against her bullies makes her a far better person than me! lol!


Bitten because it's an amazing werewolf novel! And it was among my first adult ones too! I love it! Plus it can stand on its own, like most of Kelley's books! This too is in my closet but on another shelf, actually it sits on top of my bookcase that I have shoved in there!


So now I must cry and mourn all my lost pretties and head to store so I can become broke as I work to replace them all! Which makes me think I better take a true inventory on them one of these days! Goodreads isn't really up to date because I don't have reviews for ALL the books I read. Just since 2009 when I started blogging and Goodreads ironically!


And again, I must state: Truly EVIL question!! EVIL!!!! ;)





Random Thursday

So for the next Disney movie to delve into with little factoids is my all time favorite, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! For the obvious reasons, naturally!

  • Belle is the only princess with hazel eyes
  • Jackie Chan provided the voice--both speaking and singing--for the Beast in the CHINESE version of the movie.
  • Gaston is the first male villain to star in a princess centric Disney film--remember prior to this we just had Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and The Little Mermaid as far as Disney princess movies!
  • Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film in history to be nominated for a Best Picture at the Academy Awards!--sadly it didn't win that one, but did win Best Music, Original Score and Best Song with Beauty and the Beast (naturally)!
  • During the end fight in the movie, Gaston's original line was "time to die!" Disney decided this line was too dark for an animated film (yeah!), so it was changed to "Belle is mine!" But you can still see Gaston's lips mouth the original line in the film.--I have yet to check for this but must do it soon!
  • The little piece of hair that constantly falls in Belle's face is an intentional character detail added so it showed that she wasn't perfect.--though that being a flaw is pretty silly if you ask me!






Feb 25, 2015

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.




From New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger comes a new novel in the world of the Parasol Protectorate starring Prudence, the daughter of Alexia Tarabotti.

When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) is given an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female would under similar circumstances - names it the Spotted Custard and floats to India in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea. But India has more than just tea on offer. Rue stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier's wife, and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis and an embarrassing lack of bloomers, what else is a young lady of good breeding to do but turn metanatural and find out everyone's secrets, even thousand-year-old fuzzy ones?


SO can't wait to read this one! Already have it preordered, hopefully a signed edition this time from B&N! SQUEE!

TITLE: Prudence
AUTHOR: Gail Carriger
PUBLISHER: Orbit
GENRE: Paranormal Steampunk

RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2015 


Grave Visions by Kalayna Price is the much-anticipated fourth installment in the kick-ass urban fantasy series about Alex Craft, a grave witch who can communicate with the dead.

If you want to hear voices from the dead in Nekros City, you call Alex Craft. She's a Grave Witch with reasonable rates and extraordinary powers, who specializes in revealing the secrets of the dead. But now she's the one fighting to keep her own secret. She's not human—and her newly discovered heritage is causing havoc for her both in the human realm and in Faerie. But her status as an unaffiliated fae also makes her an ideal candidate to investigate a new street drug that has surfaced in several of the spaces between the human and fae worlds.

This glamour-infused drug causes hallucinations that turn real—at least for a while and often with deadly consequences. Searching for the source of this drug—and its purpose—lands Alex front and center in the conflict brewing in Faerie and she must find answers before she's dragged so deep she loses her freedom.


I'm going nuts over this one! The release date keeps changing on me and I now have no clue when it's coming out. Nor do I know when Kalayna's other series next book comes out which I LOVED that series! I understood the author had some life changing events that happened and I totally understand that things must be pushed back, but what tends to upset me is how the info keeps changing. I had written down that this one releases in March, totally forgot what day and now GR doesn't have any date, but still says 2015. So I just have to keep my fingers crossed!


TITLE: Grave Visions
AUTHOR: Kalayna Price
PUBLISHER: Roc
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: ?




 

Feb 24, 2015

EARLY Review--Dark Debt by Chloe Neill

A vampire never gets old. But neither do his enemies. When a figure from Ethan's dark past makes a splashy debut in Chicago, Merit and her Master don't know whether he's friend or foe. But they'll have to figure out soon, because trouble is brewing in the Windy City.

At an exclusive society soiree attended by the upper echelons of the human and supernatural worlds, Merit and Ethan barely stop the assassination of a guest. When the target turns out to be a shady businessman with a criminal edge, Merit suspects a human vendetta. But the assassins have fangs....

The connections to Chicago's Houses go deeper than Merit knows, and even one wrong move could be her last....





I received this early copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


Chloe Neill returns to Chicago and our favorite cast of vampires who call the city home with Dark Debt! Merit is rounding up to her first year as a vampire and it's been one eventual year, to say the least and it's about to get even more crazier with the return of Ethan's maker, the one he thought long past dead.

Balthasar makes his appearance early and known to Ethan and his vampires right away, and the tension is high. Ethan was sure Balthasar was dead years ago after he killed Persephone, the girl Ethan loved all those long years ago. Balthasar is back and ready to take what is his, which essentially, is everything that belongs to Ethan...including Merit.

Other problems hindering Chicago, is fellow vampire house Navarre getting mixed up with debts to the Circle, a sort of mafia to the supernaturals. Celina had racked up a lot of debt and now, the Circle is coming to collect and is demanding blood instead of money.

Caught between both problems, Merit is in over her head. Even more so when strife occurs between her and Jonah when he asks her to do something that goes against everything she holds dear to her.

Needless to say, this was one wickedly intense read! And I ate up those pages!! I love how Merit has stayed true to herself over the almost past year, she's a vampire, yes. She has grown into her role as Sentinel, yes, but she has never lost sight of her true self. The one that we saw in the beginning with Some Girls Bite when she was a newbie vamp, that Merit is still apart of her. But she's also grown. She has accept her role as Sentinel, she has accepted her relationship with Ethan, which took quite awhile to fully form, and then we had Hard Bitten, please never again Chloe!

So yes, Merit is a heroine who has grown, and she keeps growing. There are still problems that occur in her new life, and she deals with them, but she's not alone. And that's the greatest part! She has Ethan, and we'll get to the romance in a bit, but she also has her friends, Mallory, Catch, Jeff, Lindsey, Luc...the list goes on and on. Merit truly has remarkable friends and their bonds with one another is truly endearing! I love seeing such incredible friendships!

And Ethan! Ethan still makes me swoon! True, I found him pompous and an ass in the beginning. While I felt the stirrings of chemistry between him and Merit, I never felt anything genuine between them. Until some books later on! And wow! The chemistry between them is still sizzling! Ethan is definitely an alpha male vampire, but I also like how he never comes off as being overly possessive. He still lets Merit be Merit and doesn't conform her into what he desires. The two are basically perfect for one another, because Merit still continues to challenge him whenever she so desires! Their banter is still delightful as well! The jokes...and I am DYING to know his nickname for Merit that he had called her way back when, when he would discuss her with himself or another character. For he learns Mallory and Merit's old nickname of Darth Sullivan and he mentions he had a nickname for Merit, but we have yet to hear it! 

The pacing to this one was pretty fast paced, in the good way! It wasn't at all rushed, and there's never a dull moment! There are plenty of laughs, a few heated moments between Merit and Ethan, and well dispersed moments of kickass action!! I loved it! Truly, this is one of my most favorite Urban Fantasy series! It's just amazing and has everything a reader could want!

If you haven't yet read the Chicagoland Vampire series, now is the time! Don't let the 11 books to date overwhelm you. True, it's a good number, but that means you get to binge read up to this one and oh my goodness, that's a blessing itself, because Hard Bitten!!! I won't tell you what that means, but other readers of the series will know and agree, that was a tough ending to handle and wait for the next one!
  
The Chicagoland Vampires is the perfect series for Urban Fantasy readers because of its paranormal element, the action, the humor, romance, suspense and of course the snark, which is its own blend of humor entirely!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars


Dark Debt releases March 3, 2015





 

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/
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



"'I like to think I'm more than the sum of my training.'

'You are,' Luc said. 'There's at least some hot beef or deep dish in there.'

'I'm also more than Chicago foodstuffs.'

Ethan grinned at Luc. 'Pumas? Diet Coke? Smart-assery?'

Luc snapped his fingers, pointed at Ethan. 'Yes. And, like, three percent medieval literature.'" p. 135

 





TITLE: Dark Debt
AUTHOR: Chloe Neill
PUBLISHER: NAL Trade
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2015




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 Favorite Heroines From Books 



*in no particular order



1. CHARLEY DAVIDSON--omg I love Charley! She's so fun and funny! She's spunky! She can be serious if the occasion really requires it, but I love her approach to life. Plus...Reyes!
2. MERIT--is another awesome heroine! I loved how at the beginning of the series she was more...immature, just a tad. Or at least in the sense that she was able to joke more often! Now she's grown into her role as Sentinel and can be serious as the situation calls for! She's a character who really grows on you, but still remains true to her heart! Plus...Ethan!
3. CAT--loved her! Even loved how she did make mistakes, she's humaized. And she was even human for a few books! She's wicked awesome and such a strong heroine! Plus...BONES!!! <--extra exclamation="" for="" him="" points="" span="">



4. MAC--another heroine who grew into her heroine role! Love Mac, she was awesome! Which reminds me I need to read Burned so bad! Plus...Barrons!
5. ELENA--one of my first fave heroines, so she's what I think of as classic! Loved her! Another strong woman who took on her role with some difficulty but it soon becomes done with ease! Plus...Clay! (sensing a pattern here?! :)  )
6. M.J. HOLLIDAY--M.J. is another great heroine! This is a cozy mystery series, so she's not all kickass, but she's still pretty wicked! Seeing ghosts and solving murders, that's pretty badass in its own way!


7. VERONICA MARS--this counts because we now have a VERONICA MARS BOOK SERIES! YAY!! I've read the first book and have the second to read but I loved them! I came late to the VM game, but omg, Veronica is an awesome heroine! I love her snark and she's hilarious and hella smart! She's incredible!
8. ALEXIA--I loved Alexia! Set in the past, you wouldn't think a heroine could be so freaking awesome or hilarious, but Alexia is pretty badass in her own way too! She's downright funny at times and her parasol is badass too!
9. JOANNE BALDWIN--one of my other first adult series! I loved Joanne! She was incredible! She has abilities to control wind and the entire series was just so epic! Joanna was the heroine who just never quit! Loved her strength in that light!


10. HERMIONE GRANGER--hells ya! Was going to go with all adult heroines, but as always, something from Harry Potter always stands out to me! And Hermione is definitely one of them! She was wicked smart and quite the heroine in this one, even if she wasn't the "star" character like Harry, she was still very pivotal. I mean, wasn't it said that if it wasn't for her, Ron and Harry would still be SOL in the Sorcerer's Stone? Girl power! ;)





Feb 23, 2015

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.


The Past 2 Weeks I Read:
 
The Wondrous and the Wicked by Page Morgan (ARC)--Review to come at a later date
Lure by Alyssa Rose Ivy (ARC) (stars)
Fairest by Marissa Meyer (5 stars)
Soulbound by Kristen Callihan (ARC) (5 stars)
 
 
Reviews that Were Posted:
 
Greta and the Glass Kingdom by Chloe Jacobs (ARC)* (5 stars)
Shadow Study (ARC) (5 stars)
Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott (ARC)* (4.5 stars)
A Ghostly Undertaking by Tonya Kappes (ARC) (3 stars)
 
*Review took place in the individual blog tour
 
 
About to Start Reading:
 
Dark Debt by Chloe Neill (Early Copy)
 
 
What I Hope to Read This Week:
 
The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey (ARC)
 
 
Other Posts of Interest--Memes from last week and other special posts from the two weeks:
 






 

Feb 22, 2015

Stacking the Shelves--the HOLY CRAP of EPICNESS (aka 2 weeks worth!)

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!



This truly was a haul of epic proportions these past two weeks! My credit card is probably weeping by now, but I can't bring myself to care one whit! Though, I still need a job, but I have a little bit of savings to apply to the important things in life...like books! ;)

So basically I had a fabulous two weeks, filled with no willpower whatsoever! LOL!

Here's what I bought:

 Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (UK Ed.)--I found this beauty at HPB and couldn't resist!
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (Hardcover)--I never did buy the original hardcover as I had an ARC, so temptation called me to buy this sparkly beauty too! Saved 20% on its already reduced price!
Deadly Spells by Jaye Wells
Heart of Stone by Kelly Keaton--the paperback version as it was mostly ebook, but once it arrived I learned the cover is that glorious smooth kind and I LOVE those! So it was a win-win!
Cress by Marissa Meyer (Paperback)--for I learned I was in the back with all the other wonderful bloggers! My blog name is right at the tip of my finger there! I gushed!

Luckily in this batch I only have 2 to read! The next batch, I pretty much need to read all of them!

From my trip to Naperville the past weekend, I bought WAY more than I should, but they were ALL SIGNED, so that's always hard to pass up!

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard--SIGNED!
As You Wish by Cary Elwes--SIGNED!
The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson--SIGNED!
Divergent Collector's Edition by Veronica Roth--SIGNED!!! Though I did already have this unsigned, I decided I wanted it signed since all my other VRoth books are signed!
Frostfire by Amanda Hocking--SIGNED!


Then for review I received: 

Dark Debt by Chloe Neill (early copy)
Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey (ARC)
Soul Crossed by Lisa Gail Green (ARC)
Hit by Delilah S. Dawson (ARC)
Soulbound by Kristen Callihan (ARC)
Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs (ARC)
Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep (ARC)--SIGNED!


THANK YOU NAL Trade, Delacorte Press, Full Fathom Five Digital, Simon Pulse, Sourcebooks Fire, Forever, Jennifer Estep, Netgalley, and Edelweiss!!

And then awhile back I sent my books to A.G. Howard to get signed since that was an option and those were returned this week too:



Then I also got swag this week! I got a little from A.G. Howard, then since I had preordered the signed copy of The Shadow Cabinet, I go the special cool swag from Maureen, and then bookmarks from Jennifer!


THANK YOU Anita, Maureen, and Jennifer!!
 

And that was my oh so awesome haul from the past two weeks!!! What did you all get?!