Stacking the Shelves--Swag & The Missing CARD!

 

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 Reading Reality. 

Well it was another week! A bit of a stressful one as work is slowly gearing into its busy season and for whatever reason other teammates are working on other projects and aren't always participating in our pool of requests that we are to fulfill. I mean, we're a good group, but I feel like we sometimes lose some communication with being remote. Also we're all a bit spread out with some in FL, another is in AZ, and the rest of us are local with supervisors being in all of the above and CA! So yeah, we're all over the place! So we sometimes work on different things outside out normal scope but I'm feeling like some aren't being quite communicative with what's going on because a long time will go by before they say they are skipping their turn and will let the rest of us know when they can join the rotation again, which sometimes isn't until nearly the end of the day! But we all work different hours, so while it's nearly the end of my day those individuals will be on for another hour or two. But yeah, it's mite stressful sometimes because it's even hard to really talk with one another through chats because you can't read tone in chats.

 

But anyway, the week wasn't too bad! It was actually pretty calm book wise! I almost didn't get anything until I hit the library sale in a neighboring county this weekend! And since I'm just OCD about my books, I don't like all the library markings on books I want to read and keep, so there wasn't a whole lot left to choose from when you ignore those but then I found one title, a sequel to a book I haven't read yet but want to and thought why not?

 

Remember Yesterday by Pintip Dunn--I haven't read the first book but it's on the TBR pile and I first debated about buying a HC of book 2 when I bought book 1 in PB. But it was marked as .50 so I thought I could deal! Sadly, when I checked out I was bypassed through the book check line as I only had the 1 book and when I got to the register they were asking for my card. I looked at him like WTH are you talking about? What card? He was like, you don't have a card? I was like no, what card?! Then he talks to a director of sorts and says, she doesn't have a card. I'm like WHAT CARD?! I said I was just waved through to registers because this is all I had. Then she was like HC, okay $2. After all the kerfuffle about "the card" I was like okay, but as I was walking away, I was like, this was supposed to be .50! But then I was like it's fine! It's a $17 HC for $2 that is in brand new condition, .50 would've been amazing and what I should've paid, but $2 is fine! So yes, I had a bit of a headache after that! The library can have my $1.50 donation.

Then my preorder goodies for Never A Hero came in straight from Australia this week! I was so excited! I still need to read the first book but I felt confident about it, so yeah, I preordered the sequel and then submitted for these gorgeous character cards!

 

I got the character cards,
a bonus print that I got to choose, which I liked the looks of this one bc it gave me Caraval vibes, lol. Yup, the sole reason I picked it!
a signed bookplate
a bookmark

 

THANK YOU Vanessa & HarperTeen!

Then my June A Touch of Magic Designs order finally came in! I was a bit worried about it being late, but never fear, it arrived!

In a bid to try to cut back on what I spend frivolously, I only allowed myself to buy the OUABH Mermaid print and the Cupcake of the Month pin! I was quite proud of my restraint this time around and though I wanted to, I didn't even let myself shop during the incredible birthday sale...mainly as I had the prints I really really wanted and couldn't justify buying something just to buy something on sale.

And then the happiest piece of mail I got was the OUABH 2nd surprise gift! I first thought I was not getting this as I received an email that basically told me I wasn't, but then it arrived a few days later and I about cried happy tears!

THANK YOU SO MUCH Flatiron Books!

I'm planning to frame this one as well, but have to wait til next weekend when I know I will have time to go out to my storage unit where I placed my framed Jack print! I want to see if I can get a matching frame and I can't remember where I bought it. At this point, I'm thinking Michaels, but there could be an "identifying" price tag sticker or something on the back of the frame in storage so I will check it then. Definitely want a 3 bedroom house now just so I can have a Caraval room! Not a guest themed bedroom mind you, just a room filled with bookcases of Caraval/OUABH books and matching artwork on the walls and other shelves displaying all my artwork creation pieces I've acquired. Sigh...it's the Caraval Dreamhouse of My Dreams! Lol!

And that was it for me this week! Not too bad all things considered as it was mostly swag!

 

 

Review--Evil Thing by Serena Valentino

 

Cruella De Vil is the perfect villain: stylish, witty, relentless...and possibly cursed.

From her lonely childhood, to her iconic fashion choices, to that fateful car crash (you know the one), Cruella tells all in this marvelous memoir of a woman doomed. Even the cruelest villains have best friends, true loves, and daring dreams. Now it's Cruella's turn to share hers.

This latest novel by the author of the wildly popular and darkly fascinating Villains series brings readers a tale told by the Evil Thing herself-a tale of the complicated bonds of female friendship, of mothers and daughters, and of burning, destructive desire.

After all, nothing is as simple as black and white.

 

 

 

Diving back into my TBR pile, I came up with Serena Valentino's Evil Thing! I am loving the Disney Villains series though I am still quite behind! It's been an interesting insight to all the classic villains we've come to fear and/or abhor from our favorite movies. Cruella was always an interesting character, I mean not only do we have her animated, we have her in live action form with Glenn Close, and then more recently we had her live action background story. Of course, that one in particular won't fit in with this story, from the animated woman herself!

This is the story of Cruella De Vil and the girl she once was and how she turned into the slightly mad woman that we saw her as. Cruella was actually a normal, happy child. She had a loving and doting father who read her fairy tales, she had a mother who doted her with fur coats and clothing, and then she had her best friend, Anita. Life was good...until it slowly wasn't.

Cruella tells us her tale in this one from her current future. She looks back on her life, perhaps trying to see where it all went wrong. As noted, she had a rather happy childhood, mostly in part to her father and friend, Anita. She loved her mother though, she always looked forward to spending time with her mother, but her mother rarely seemed to have time for her as she was always running out to the next party or social gathering or she had the need to go shopping.

We get to see Cruella grow into a young woman and watch her mother try to rule her life. And if you pay close enough attention you will see things that become notable later on. Little tiny details that will shape Cruella into the woman we meet in 101 Dalmatians.

I quite enjoyed this story! I always wondered at Anita and Cruella's relationship as the animated movie hinted at a past together while the live action one made its own connections. Naturally, it's best to go with the animated stories when reading these Villain books, should there be a live action one to also make comparisons with.

I very much felt for Cruella in this story. She was always just a girl trying to make her mother proud of her, trying to win her approval, her love, but she never seemed to be enough for her mother and it was just so sad. Cruella did have a good life up to a certain point, she had moments of pure happiness and then you might catch onto things and see where things start to slowly go terribly wrong.

But in the end, we all know what is to happen. Of course, I haven't watched the movie in ages and can't quite remember what her fate was then, but this book gives us the true answer. Or Cruella's answer at least.

I was a bit surprised that we didn't see the famous Odd Sisters hanging out in the background. There was a suspicious looking character, but since I haven't read the last book in over a year or maybe two...I can't quite figure out if my suspicion has any fodder or not. But since I have three more Villain books waiting for me, I did see our "hint" at who the next book would be about. Doesn't hurt that I know who it is that when the "hint" appeared I was like, "oh, there it is!" Lol.

This is definitely a series for the Disney fan at heart! I want to say Disney purist, but don't really like that connotation with what this story is about. For I guess a Disney purist wouldn't really root for the villain in this one. Not that I was rooting for Cruella to kill the dogs, but I felt for the girl she once was. 

If you are new to this series, I can say that you don't "have" to read the books in order. If there's one villain you want to read over the others, you can get away with that. In the past, some of the books have a small plotline involving the Odd Sisters where they make appearances and sometimes help steer the story in one direction or another and I suspect that maybe someday we'll get to the bottom of their story, but that day isn't today.

Evil Thing was yet another enchanting read from the world of Disney and all the stories we found there! Getting this other side to the villains' story is a real treat! I'm actually looking forward to getting back to this series because I'm all sorts of curious about the next couple of villains whose stories are about to be told!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

Book Blogger Hop

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

This week's question is: What fictional character would you most like to meet in person? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

MY ANSWER: Oohhh that's a toughie! There have been so many incredible characters, and so many I would love to meet in person! If to talk about books for all those reader ones, or to joke around with, or even to maybe smack them upside the head and ask what were they thinking?! Lol!

Janco from Poison Study is one for sure! Katy from Obsidian since she was one of the first true book-lovers I remember reading about. I always tend to fall back on my old faves, but there are new books with characters I'd love to meet, I am just terrible at trying to remember them all, especially when I've been reading all day! Lol.

Books from the Backlog #42

 

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks. This meme is hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books!

 

Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean.

 

At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out.

 

 

 

Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier made it to my TBR in December of 2014 as well! I had heard mixed things about this series, mainly something to do with its translation into English, but I still somehow found myself with the whole trilogy on my TBR pile! Mostly thanks to used book sales and/or Book Outlet! Lol. I hope to get around to it one day as though I sometimes struggle with time traveling books, I do find them fascinating!

 

 

 

 

Can't Wait Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

 

This sequel to the contemporary fantasy Only a Monster will take Joan deeper into the monster world, where treacherous secrets and even more danger await.

Despite all of the odds, Joan achieved the impossible. She reset the timeline, saved her family – and destroyed the hero, Nick.

But her success has come at a terrible cost.

She alone remembers what happened. Now, Aaron, her hard-won friend – and maybe more – is an enemy, trying to kill her. And Nick, the boy she loved, is a stranger who doesn’t even know her name. Only Joan remembers that there is a ruthless and dangerous enemy still out there.

When a deadly attack forces Joan back into the monster world as a fugitive, she finds herself on the run with Nick – as Aaron closes in.

As the danger rises – and Nick gets perilously closer to discovering the truth of what Joan did to him – Joan discovers a secret of her own. One that threatens everyone she loves.

Torn between love and family and monstrous choices, Joan must find a way to re-gather her old allies to face down the deadliest of enemies, and to save the timeline itself.

Vanessa Len’s stunning Only a Monster trilogy continues with this second instalment, a thrilling journey where a secret past threatens to unravel everyone's future.

 

I still need to read the first book of this series but it's one I've a got a good feeling about, hence the reason I can't wait to read this one either!

 

TITLE: Never a Hero
AUTHOR: Vanessa Len
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
GENRE: YA Paranormal
RELEASE DATE: August 29, 2023

 

 

From New York Times bestselling author J. Elle comes a modern-day YA romantic fantasy series opener about a glamorous magical world of social elites, forbidden love, and a dark magic that could destroy it all.

A must-read for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Stephanie Garber, and Bridgerton.

RICH IS THE BLOOD OF THE CHOSEN.

17 year-old Quell has lived her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city, in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through Quell’s veins.

Until someone discovers her dark secret.

To hide from the assassin hunting her, and keep her mother out of harm’s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she’ll be able to secretly bury her forbidden magic forever.

If caught, she will be killed.

But becoming the perfect debutante is a lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there’s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her brooding mentor and— assassin in training.


When Quell uncovers the deadly lengths the Order will go to defend its wealth and power, she’s forced to choose: embrace the dark magic she’s been running from her entire life or risk losing everything, and everyone, she’s grown to love.

Still, she fears the most formidable monster she’ll have to face is the one inside.

Brimming with ballgowns and betrayal, magic and mystery, decadence and darkness, House of Marionne is perfect for readers who crave morally gray characters, irresistible romance, dark academia, and a deeply intoxicating and original world.

 

This one sounds deeply intriguing! After seeing early buzz and Stephanie's endorsement on the book I was pretty much hooked! I can't wait until it releases!

 

TITLE: House of Marionne
AUTHOR: J. Elle
PUBLISHER: Razorbill
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: August 29, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Review--The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten

 

In this romantic new fantasy series from author Hannah Whitten, a young woman's secret power to raise the dead plunges her into the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King's royal court.

When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.

Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die.

Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne’er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society.

But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.

 

The Foxglove King brings about a new fantasy series by the one and only, Hannah Whitten. This time we leave the world of sort of fairy tales behind and have just a "regular" fantasy but still an interesting one. The worlds Hannah creates are very intricate and detailed, and her characters are always amazing and are what keep me coming back!

Lore was always the girl who did what she had to survive, she adapted to her surroundings and always tried to stay out of sight of her enemy. Lore has a certain set of powers that allow her to raise the bodies of the dead into a sort of living state, basically, she turns them into zombies but since she doesn't like this power and what it does to people, she doesn't use it...unless she has to.

When Lore gets herself into trouble and ends up working for the Priest Exalted and the king in trying to uncover just what diabolical plans Prince Bastian has going for the kingdom. The two believe he may be a traitor to the crown and they want Lore to find proof. At her side is one of the other priests, Gabriel. Gabe is actually the one who arrested her when her powers unleashed itself in front of authorities.

Now Lore and Gabe must pretend to be brother and sister on a visit all while Lore must find a way to get closer to Bastian and find out just how far his betrayals go. But all is not what it seems in the kingdom.

Going in, I pretty much knew there was going to be a love triangle between Gabe and Bastian and I have to admit, I'm not sure what "team" I'm on at this point! The ending really threw us through the ringer and each man has his potential as to why he should be the "one" and why he shouldn't be it either! Lol. I do feel like Gabe had the strongest lead for the story just because it seemed like Lore spent more time with him and Bastien was known to be quite the romantic, of sorts. He gets around basically!

There was a great deal of mystery going on in this one. Secrets were running rampant in this story from Lore's own background, to the secrets she was trying to uncover, and the ones that were uncovered instead! The story really keeps you on your toes.

I must admit though, the one thing I struggled with yet again was the world-building. I guess because it's a fantasy and it seems so complex. I don't know. I just struggled to get through some parts of the book when things were being set up, explained or shown through actions. It just was a struggle for me to focus. I tried not to remember my past struggles with this author's books because I really do want to love them entirely, but yet, I found myself once again a little bit at a loss.

I did enjoy the characters though, but even great characters can make a story hard to follow because you can't figure out what their purpose is.

The pacing to the story was good. I mean, since I was struggling with the world-building, it was a bit of mess to get through. But I was still pretty invested with these characters and wanting to know where they would end up in the end!

The ending was still pretty surprising too! Lots of exciting things happening at the end of this one that will set the course for the next installment. Things were kind of left up in the air when it came to Lore's relationship choices, and the future looks pretty rocky at this point. I'm not entirely sure if I will continue this series or not since I find myself struggling on yet another of these novels. I mean, third time's the charm right? If anything, I might wait for the paperback the following year or I will wait for reviews to trickle in.But all in all, this was an intriguing and entertaining read, if a bit thick in the world-building area. Things just didn't come across clearly for me in that area and that's kind of a big deal when it comes to reading.

Overall Rating 3/5 stars

Challenges Monthly Wrap-up: July

CHALLENGE 1: 2023 Series Enders Reading Challenge

Legends and Liars by Morgan Rhodes (Echoes and Empires)

This puts me at 10/10 series! I don't know if I will be upping my challenge or not as looking through my piles, I see series I still need to start and others that are still pretty lengthy to get through and knowing a few books that are on my future plates, I don't feel confident in upping the number just yet. Bonus numbers from here on out sound good too!

CHALLENGE 2: 2023 Discussion Challenge

The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag 2023
Power Outages
Book Treatment
Planet Book Tag
Summer Movies
Changing the Schedule
Toothpaste

Now I just wrote my 30th discussion yesterday (or a day or two ago really!) and my goal was 25! So I passed that this month. Maybe I ought to up this one? We'll see what happens!

CHALLENGE 3: 2023 New Release Challenge

Legends and Liars by Morgan Rhodes (6/13/23)
Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong (9/12/23)--Review to come at a later date
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (5/2/23)

Currently at 15/20 for this one and reading 16 now! So not bad, I don't think I will have a problem getting to my goal with this one!

CHALLENGE 4: The Backlist Reader Challenge 2023

Dirty Lying Faeries by Sabrina Blackburry (9/6/22)

Well I only read 1 backlist title this month. But I'm still doing good with this challenge as I'm at 17/20. And my next read after my current one will fit this challenge so there's that too! Lol.

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.

 

So I didn't get a whole lot of reading done last week! Usually since I get off Fridays, I normally finish whatever book I started that week but since I took a roadtrip that I had to drive on, 12 hours of the day were lost! Lol. A good kind of lost though!

 

"'In my experience with my father, earliest conveniences means "get your ass here as soon as possible."' Bastian flipped the mallet over his shoulder and ambled away. 'Have a good time, can't wait to hear all about it!'" p 247

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TITLE: The Foxglove King
AUTHOR: Hannah Whitten
PUBLISHER: Orbit Books
GENRE: Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: March 7, 2023

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

 

 

This week's topic is: Top 10 Forgotten Backlist Titles

*in no particular order

10. HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE by Jeaniene Frost
9. HALF-BLOOD by Jennifer L. Armentrout
8. OBSIDIAN by Jennifer L. Armentrout

7. MY SOUL TO TAKE by Rachel Vincent
6. STRAY by Rachel Vincent
5. POISON STUDY by Maria V. Snyder

4. THE SUMMONING by Kelley Armstrong
3. BITTEN by Kelley Armstrong
2. DARKFEVER by Karen Marie Moning

1. INTERTWINED by Gena Showalter