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.

Last Week I Read:

Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost (4.5 stars)

Vicarious by Paula Stokes (4.5 stars)

Ferocious by Paula Stokes (ARC)--Review to come at a later date

The Vampire's Valentine Surprise by Kristen Painter (5 stars)

Review That Was Posted:

Sparks of Light by Janet B. Taylor (ARC) (4.95 stars) 

Currently Reading:

A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

What I Plan to Read this Week:

Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris 

Other Posts of Interest:

Discussion Challenge: Favorite Standalones

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Waiting on Wednesday

Random Thursday

Book Blogger Hop

Challenges Wrap-Up: July

Stacking the Shelves

 

 

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! The meme is now hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality.


So uhh...I might have gone a little overboard with my recent stop at The Book Depository. I mean, considering what I ordered from elsewhere earlier this week that will hopefully arrive in time for what I need it for towards the end of next month...yeah, I was pretty tame! I think that recent order I literally ordered a month out, though I will need it for the 26th...hopefully it happens! LOL!

But anyway, here's what I bought:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling--I bought the 3 remaining 20th Anniversary House Editions because I have a problem! LOL! Also, it didn't hurt that TBD sent me a coupon to buy these very books! So really, THEY MADE ME DO IT!

 

 

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder--UK edition! I apparently didn't have these already! I had the Aussie ones but not UK, so I quickly added those to my order!

Outside In by Maria V. Snyder--UK edition!

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo--finally after 3 separate orders I GOT ONE!!! Now to try my luck with the next two. Sigh...

 

 

 Then because I apparently forgot to photograph it in my happy state...

 

72 Hours by Bella Jewel--I forgot where I first heard about this one but it sounded rather interesting and exciting, so I had to get it!

And that was my happy little haul! In the end, I really only added 1 book to my TBR pile...so it's a WIN! 😂

 

 

Challeges Wrap-Up: July

CHALLENGE 1: New Release Challenge

The Savage Dawn by Melissa Grey (7/11/17)

Grave Ransom by Kalayna Price (7/4/17)

First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy (7/25/17)

Ally by Anna Banks (10/3/17)--Review to come September 26th

Till Death by Jennifer L. Armentrout (2/28/17)

Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost (2/28/17)

Ferocious by Paula Stokes (8/15/17)--Review to come August 7th

CHALLENGE 2: Series Enders

The Savage Dawn by Melissa Grey (Girl at Midnight Trilogy)

Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost (Night Prince Series)

CHALLENGE 3: Discussion Challenge

Disney vs. Fairy Tales

Cover Markings

This or That: Bookish Edition

The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

Favorite Standalones

 

 

CHALLENGE 4: TBR Challenge

Nemesis by Anna Banks (10/4/16)

Vicarious by Paula Stokes (8/16/16)

 

Mini Review--The Vampire's Valentine Surprise by Kristen Painter

When Delaney Ellingham enters the Nocturne Falls Valentine’s Day Bake-Off, she has no idea that an old rival will create such havoc. Her husband, Hugh, and her friends come to her aid, but even they can’t guess the surprise that lays in store…

Originally Published In Kiss and spell anthology.

The Vampire’s Valentine Surprise was yet another quick little read in the amazing world of Nocturne Falls written by Kristen Painter! As you may already know, I ADORE this series, despite being vastly behind!! LOL! Nocturne Falls is definitely up there in my top bookish worlds I’d want to live in, I’d say right up there after Hogwarts!

In this one we see Delaney preparing for the Nocturne Falls’ Valentine’s Day Bake-Off. She’s been driving her husband Hugh a wee bit crazy with all the sugar and taste testing, but once the big day finally arrives, trouble is soon to follow. Delaney takes ill with a few moments of baking. It’s looking very likely that someone may have poisoned her coffee drink or perhaps put in a nasty spell. And when Delaney previously sees her arch-nemesis and competitor leaving her tent, her suspicions are aroused.

She quickly puts Hugh on the case, as she’s kind of busy trying to win the bake-off in all three categories. I love Delaney’s determination to finish a bake-off when she very well might be poisoned. When we learn the truth behind the matter it’s nothing short of shocking!!

Reading this little story only reminded me once again why I adore this series so much! It’s just a fun little world filled with paranormal peeps! I would give anything to live in this world! Lol! If I haven’t sold you off on this series yet, I highly recommend it! It’s the prefect kind of read for paranormal lovers who enjoy a bit of mystery as well!

 
Overall Rating 5/5 stars




 

Book Blogger Hop

This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!

Since it seems Parajunkee's Follow Friday is well and truly gone, I decided to participate in a new Friday meme! This one seems similar in having a random question to answer so I figured, why not?!

This week's question is: Do you read tie-in novels to movies or television series? If so, which ones? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

MY ANSWER: I used to! Waaaaaaaay back when I didn't have enough "new" books to read--what are those times even like now?! LOL!--I read the entire Roswell series, which it was initially a book series turned into a television series. I read those and then all the other spinoffs! I started reading a few of the Supernatural books that were "extra" adventures the brothers took, but then my TBR pile came into fruition and I kinda stopped with that one. I also would read the novelizations of the Underworld movies! There was even a different version of how the war was started between lycans and vampires. Though after watching that final movie, I don't think my heart can take reading it! Unless they changed the ending...! LOL!

 

Random Thursday

It's the last Thursday of the month, so it means it's the last month for venturing further with That's a Fact Jack: A Collection of Utterly Useless Information [Updated] by Harry Bright and Jakob Anser! Next month I'll go back to the Disney book!

(image borrowed from Twitter.com)

"The state motto of Alaska is 'North to the future.' Alaska's Point Barrow is the northernmost point in the United States."

"Alaska contains the easternmost (Pochnoi Point on Semisopochnoi Island in the Aleutians) and the westernmost (Amatignak Island in the Aleutians) points in the United States."

Alaska is pretty point worthy!

(image borrowed from Alfred K)

"Oskar Stohr and Jack Yufe were identical twins born in 1933and separated shortly after birth. Oskar was raised as a Catholic and became a Nazi; Jack was raised as a Jew. When they reunited many years after World War II, they had little in common aside from the urge to fake sneezes during uncomfortable silences."

That's regretfully sad, yet a little funny with that last bit!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

"Although the word 'ghetto' today connotes impoverished urban centers, it originally pertained to quarters where Jews were forced to live irrespective of social class. In Venice in the early 1500s, Jews were housed on an island with an iron foundry. The Italian world for foundry is gheto."

And now we're back to sad.

Review--Vicarious by Paula Stokes

Winter Kim and her sister, Rose, work as high-tech stunt girls for Rose’s ex-boyfriend, Gideon, engaging in dangerous and enticing activities while recording their neural impulses for his Vicarious Sensory Experiences, or ViSEs. Whether it’s bungee jumping, shark diving, or grinding up against celebrities at the city’s hottest dance clubs, Gideon can make it happen for you—for a price.

When Rose disappears and a ViSE recording of her murder is delivered to Gideon, Winter is devastated. She won’t rest until she finds her sister’s killer. But when the clues she uncovers conflict with the digital recordings her sister made, Winter isn’t sure what to believe. To find out what happened to Rose, she’ll have to untangle what’s real from what only seems real, risking her life in the process.

Vicarious is the first book in an action-packed duology by Paula Stokes, better yet, this first installment takes place in St. Louis! I don’t think a book I’ve ever read has ever happened in my dull little city. Maybe there was a mention of it or a very brief stay, but that’s it! The fact that this book is pretty intense coupled with a mystery to boot, it had me itching to read it stat. Yet, I restrained myself to wait until I could binge the duology, for sanity purposes of course!

Winter and Rose have both had a troubled life. When they were young and living in Korea, their mother gave them up for adoption, they were later brought to the US but into a human trafficking ring. It’s sickening what humans will do to another, especially ones who are vulnerable. The two sisters were saved by Gideon some years back and have been living in St. Louis ever since. Gideon developed a new technology that allows people to virtually experience intense situations such as skydiving, scuba diving with sharks, you name it! Winter is one of the people who actually does the intense activities and records them with the technology and then users can experience all the things they always dreamed of doing.

Then one day, tragedy strikes and Winter learns her sister Rose was murdered. The murderers even recorded in using the tech which had been stolen the same night. Now Winter with the help of her friend and partner in the business, Jesse, work to solve the mystery behind Rose’s murder. But it’s a case that keeps leading them in circles and into dead ends. Rose apparently was living another life that Winter was unaware of, doing things she never expected her sister to do.

This read was seriously awesome and a bit twisted, which is why it was so awesome! I love a twisted read! There were so many angles to this story that I truly never saw anything coming! Ironically, it never bothers me when I am wrong in my own theories when reading! I just get so swept away with the story that I basically become the main character as they struggle to solve the mysteries! That to me always speaks of great writing! When a story can pull you in so deep you forget you’re the reader! That’s pretty much what happened with me and Winter!

I also really enjoyed the subtle romance between Winter and Jesse! It was one of those situations where you know Jesse is in love with Winter, but Winter’s not quite there yet! And can I comment on his name first? Jesse Ramirez! It was kind of hard not to picture Adam Rodriguez from the old show Roswell as that was his exact name as well! Weird, right? But I totally dug it! Jesse has his own troubled past as well, he and Winter are both kind of broken in some parts, but I loved that they had this incredible friendship. Granted, Winter does try to keep him at a distance emotionally, but you can see she even struggles to maintain those walls.

The mystery was one of the most exciting mysteries I’ve read in a while! I truly, truly didn’t see it coming! It was pretty shocking! I like to think I play detective pretty well with my other mystery reads, but this one totally blew me away! The reveal was so incredibly shocking! And then to top it off there’s even more added shock and reveals at the very end! I am sooo glad I have Ferocious ready at the helm! I don’t think I could handle that cliffhanger after that series of revelations! As always, I highly recommend binge reading duologies! Though I am still known to break that rule, lol! But I can already tell that binge reading this particular duology will be the best way to go about things!

Vicarious was an incredible thrilling mystery filled with so many twists and turns that it will have your mind reeling with all the possibilities! I think I may have found a new favorite author with Paula Stokes!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

 

Waiting on Wednesday

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

Paula Stokes returns to the world of Vicarious in this sequel, a high-action psychological thriller with a protagonist out for vengeance.

When Winter Kim finds out that her sister is dead and that she has a brother she never knew about, only two things matter―finding what’s left of her family and killing the man who destroyed her life. Her mission leads her from St. Louis to Los Angeles back to South Korea, where she grew up.

Things get increasingly dangerous once Winter arrives in Seoul. Aided by her friends Jesse and Sebastian, Winter attempts to infiltrate an international corporation to get close to her target, a nefarious businessman named Kyung. But keeping her last remaining loved ones out of the line of fire proves difficult, and when all seems to be lost, Winter must face one last devastating decision: is revenge worth sacrificing everything for? Or can she find a spark of hope in the darkness that threatens to engulf her?

Ironically I just received this one right before I had this WoW scheduled! But since I'm technically not ready to read it, I can't wait to binge read this duology that partially takes place in St. Louis!

TITLE: Ferocious

AUTHOR: Paula Stokes

PUBLISHER: Tor Teen

GENRE: Dystopian YA

RELEASE DATE: August 15, 2017

 

Review--Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost

In the explosive finale to New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Night Prince series, Vlad is in danger of losing his bride to an enemy whose powers might prove greater than the Prince of Vampire’s….

In the wrong hands, love can be a deadly weapon.

For nearly six hundred years, Vlad Tepesh cared for nothing, so he had nothing to lose. His brutal reputation ensured that all but the most foolhardy stayed away. Now falling in love with Leila has put him at the mercy of his passions. And one adversary has found a devastating way to use Vlad’s new bride against him.

A powerful spell links Leila to the necromancer Mircea. If he suffers or dies, so does she. Magic is forbidden to vampires, so Vlad and Leila enlist an unlikely guide as they search for a way to break the spell. But an ancient enemy lies in wait, capable of turning Vlad and Leila’s closest friends against them…and finally tearing the lovers apart forever.

I finally read Jeaniene Frost’s Into the Fire, which brings a conclusion to Vlad and Leila’s story and once again felt myself swept away by an incredibly amazing story filled with action, some romance, vampires, and a bit of humor as well! I’ve loved Jeaniene’s books since I first discovered her debut on a shelf in Borders and I’ve pretty much been a fan ever since! I never thought a series with Vlad would be possible but I was ecstatic when it came into fruition!

Vlad and Leila’s man mission now is to find Mircea and break the bond that is between him and Leila. When either one is cut or inured, the other feels that pain too. Mircea has been nothing but a thorn in Leila and Vlad’s side and now Vlad is determined to find a way to break the bond so that he can kill Mircea. Unfortunately for Vlad, he’s going to need help and when he turns to Mencheres for said help, he actually is given help in another form! You know who I’m talking about of course! It’s Ian! Much to Ian’s own dismay, his love for Mencheres has him doing his bidding. And let’s just say, Ian and Vlad working together doesn’t quite go as smoothly as planned!

The hunt kicks into full gear once they learn that Mircea has been kidnapped and they make a serious demand from Vlad, one that he will have to comply with unless he wishes to see Leila dead.

Like all Jeaniene’s books this one was filled with just the right amount of adventure! There’s a course our characters set on and it’s anything but easy. And there’s the ever growing fear that at any time, the kidnappers could decide to just off Mircea and thus put an end to Leila’s life as well. Then you have Vlad being Vlad who has been overprotective of Leila pretty much since their beginning. He continues to harbor secrets and do things without consulting Leila. It’s almost worrying to a point, but when you get down to the heart of it, he does what he does out of love for her.

There were quite a few surprises in this one! What is likely to be the foundation of Ian’s story is laid out. He does something drastic in pure Ian fashion and the consequences are dire. And we also get to see who will be starring alongside him in his book, a fact that is confirmed at the very end of the novel! Which only makes me more excited for Ian’s book, something I’ve been longing for ever since Jeaniene ventured to Spade’s book!

There was also new developments that I can see playing a larger role somewhere down the line. Unsaid events happened that we never really got to see a follow through on. Not saying what or naming names, but I think there might be more novel potential within these events! I may have to talk to Jeaniene again at some point! Road trip!! Lol.

I guess the only issue I truly had with the book was the ending, there’s just this little nagging bit that was left unclear as to what’s going to happen. And to me it felt glaringly obvious, like this needs to be addressed obvious, yet it wasn’t. Though I thought I detected a bit of it being answered in some way, but that could’ve possibly been in reference to another thing that happened! Vagueities, I know! Not a word either, I know! Though we did get some sort of answer to it, I just felt like it needed to be cut and clear discussed among the characters instead of leaving this poor addled reader to make assumptions!

Regardless of that, I still enjoyed this book, as I do with all Jeaniene’s books! It was as enjoyable as they all have been since day one! Jeaniene is known for writing fierce heroines who can kick butt and for their alpha males being all swoony! She packs in an added punch with all the great action scenes and tension-riddled moments! This is a world I’ve come to love and revisiting it through more and more characters eyes continues to be the highlight of my year! Looking forward to the next adventure more than you would know! I hope the adventures never stop!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

 

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Purple Princess of The Purple Booker.

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.


OOOMG! I am LOVING Into the Fire!! It's been too long since I've been with Jeaniene's vampires! And one of my most favorite ones makes an appearance in this story! Check out the teasers for a hint!

"Mencheres gave Vlad a look of grim amusement. 'Oh you know him. And you dislike him even more than Bones.'" p 32

Any guesses? ;) And because I couldn't leave it at one teaser, here's another:

"'I don't,' Ian agreed with a laugh. 'But I've been wrong before. Think it was on a Tuesday.'" p 107

TITLE: Into the Fire
AUTHOR: Jeaniene Frost
PUBLISHER: Avon
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2017 

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 freebie topic is: Top Ten Books You Own Multiple Copies Of

*in no particular order

**May be referring back to my FF post with same topic!

10. DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth--3 copies; hardcover, paperback, hardcover special edition...to be 4 once I get around to buying the UK version!

9. A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN by Sarah J. Maas--3 copies; standard edition, Target edition, BAM edition...still unread...still guilty...still hoping to read very soon!

8. HEARTLESS by Marissa Meyer--4 copies; hardcover, Owl Crate hardcover, UK paperback, ARC

7. INSIDE OUT by Maria V. Snyder--4 copies; US paperback, Australian paperback, UK paperback (in transit), US compilation

6. SEA GLASS by Maria V. Snyder--5 copies; 2 US trade paperbacks, US mass-market paperback, UK paperback, Australian paperback 

5. OBSIDIAN by Jennifer L. Armentrout--5 copies; original US paperback shown, redesigned US paperback, Kindle copy, US compilation of books 1 & 2 paperback, US compilation of books 1 & 2 hardcover...I need to get some international editions of this one apparently! ;D

4. MAGIC STUDY by Maria V. Snyder--6 copies; US hardcover, US trade paperback, US young adult paperback, UK adult paperback, UK young adult paperback, Australian paperback 

3. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE by J.K. Rowling--8 copies; US paperback, US 10th Anniversary hardcover, US Illustrated Special Edition, UK hardcover, 4 UK 20th Anniversary House Editions (technically 3 are in transit at this time, but close enough!). 

2. CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber--8 copies; US hardcover, Russian hardcover, Polish paperback, 5 UK hardcovers with all the hidden covers!

1. POISON STUDY by Maria V. Snyder--10 copies; ARC, US hardcover x2, US mass-market paperback, US trade paperback, US young adult paperback, UK young adult paperback, UK adult paperback, Australian paperback, Japanese paperback.