Happy Birthday, April!!!

Hey, April...

But I can't, so I'm gonna need y'alls help…all together now:

 Okay, that one was really for me. Hehe. ;0) But seriously…

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Labels: 2015, april, happy birthday

Waiting on Wednesday: Soundless & The Boy Most Likely To

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selections are...








's Pick:

Title: Soundless
Author: Richelle Mead
Series: standalone
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: November 15th, 2015

From Richelle Mead, the #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, comes a breathtaking new fantasy steeped in Chinese folklore.

For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever..

I need this in my life. For real. I'm about 90 minutes of listening, away from finishing the Bloodlines series, and I'm so freaking sad about that. I've been thinking for the past few days.. what books am I looking forward too? Then I saw a post on FB about Soundless. FATE. :) There aren't too many books I immediately purchase these days, but Richelle Mead's stuff. Automatic one click.





's Pick:



Title: The Boy Most Likely To
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Series: companion to My Life Next Door
Publisher: Penguin-Dial for Young Readers
Publication Date: June 2015

Surprises abound and sparks ignite in the highly anticipated, utterly romantic companion to My Life Next Door.

Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To:
- find the liquor cabinet blindfolded
- need a liver transplant
- drive his car into a house

Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To:
- well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.

For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.

Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.

And Alice is caught in the middle.

Told in Tim’s and Alice’s distinctive, disarming, entirely compelling voices, this return to the world of My Life Next Door is a story about failing first, trying again, and having to decide whether to risk it all once more.

Eeek!!! I absolutely LOVED My Life Next Door, and Tim just might have been one of my favorite characters...aside from little Georgie, of course. ;) Tim was a genuinely good guy, even if he didn't always make the best decisions, and I am ecstatic to get more of his story...and Alice's. Huntley Fitzpatrick's third novel is shaping up to maybe be my new favorite of hers. One can only hope, right? =)


What are you desperately waiting for this Wednesday? Let us know in the comments or share a link to your own WoW post!

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Labels: contemporary, grabby hands, huntley fitzpatrick, my life next door, penguin, richelle mead, soundless, the boy most likely to, waiting on wednesday (wow)

Top Ten Tuesday: The Impossible All-time Favorites

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the awesome ladies at The Broke and the Bookish. Apparently, they are overly fond of list-making and love to share their bookish lists with the rest of us book nerds.  =) We're game.

This week's topic is the Top Ten Books You Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years (you can extend it to 5 if you need to):

April's Picks:

It's so very hard to narrow down a top ten. In just one year, let alone 3. But here are ten titles that still stick with  me where ever I go.


Jen's Picks:

Okay, I have to split mine up a bit because it is next-to-impossible to only choose ten favorites from the last three years. So, here are my top ten favorites from the fantasy/paranormal genres:

And then here are my five favorite contemporaries from the last few years:

I probably could have picked a few more contemporaries, but since I've only just started loving them in the last few years, I decided to stick to five. And all of them focus on some kind of issue. I like my happy-go-lucky contemporary reads as much as the next girl, but the ones that really impress me are the ones that can tackle a subject -- without making me cry -- and still make me feel like I've gone on a journey, much like those my favorite fantasy stories involve.


What are some of your all-time favorite books? Be sure to share a link to your TTT post so we can visit!

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Labels: all-time favorites, childhood favorites, favorites, top ten tuesday

{Audiobook} Review: Dead of Winter by Kresley Cole

Title: Dead of Winter
Author: Kresley Cole
Narrator(s): Emma Galvin
Series: The Arcana Chronicles, book #3
Length: 9 hrs 58 min
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication Date: January 6, 2015
Source: audio received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Can Evie convince her rival loves to work together? Their survival depends on it in this third book of #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole’s Arcana Chronicles, a nonstop action tale of rescue, redemption, and a revenge most wicked.

Heartbreaking decisions
Evie was almost seduced by the life of comfort that Death offered her—until Jack was threatened by two of the most horrific Arcana, the Lovers. She will do anything to save him, even escape Death’s uncanny prison, full of beautiful objects, material comforts…and stolen glances from a former love.

Uncertain victory
Despite leaving a part of her heart behind with Death, Evie sets out into a perilous post-apocalyptic wasteland to meet up with her allies and launch an attack on the Lovers. Such formidable enemies require a battle plan, and the only way to kill them may mean Evie, Jack, and Death allying. Evie doesn’t know what will prove more impossible: surviving slavers, plague, Bagmen and other Arcana—or convincing Jack and Death to work together.

Two heroes returned
There’s a thin line between love and hate, and Evie just doesn’t know where she stands with either Jack or Death. Will this unlikely trio be able to defeat The Lovers without killing one another first...?

Up to this point, I wasn't all that sure that I liked this series. I don't think I rated either of the two previous books higher than two stars. And I just read my review of Endless Knight, and in it I indicated that I had zero intention of spending any more money on this series. But I was offered a copy of the audiobook for review, and my curiosity got the better of me because though I've had a ton of issues up to this book, the tarot aspect still really fascinates me, and I have no idea where it's all headed.

That's the best way for a series to hold my attention: to remain unpredictable. And though there are parts of the story that are easy to guess -- like that love triangle that emerged in book two -- this series definitely leaves me with a lot of questions. And speculation. I've developed so many off-the-wall theories about those Major Arcana -- which ones are left to discover, who might be an Arcana, and what roles they'll all play in the end -- that it's hard to keep track of them all.

Another aspect that continues to intrigue me is that love triangle. Love triangles don't usually deter me from a story, but they are rarely what draws me to one. Except in this case, where one of the love interests is Death personified. Obviously, I'm pulling for him because if this were real life, I'd be drawn to him, too, especially once his sad, sad story comes out. Also, I've never, ever liked Jackson Deveaux. He is crass and over-bearing and a hot-head. Yet I can't help but watch this train wreck of a romance unfold.

I'm trying to give the narrator of these audiobooks another chance because I know this is not the only series she narrates. And I actually enjoyed her narration of other books prior to listening to this series. And I know that it probably has more to do with my dislike of the main character earlier in the books than Emma Galvin's style of narrating. Also, maybe a little bit of my distaste for the audiobooks has to do with the accent Galvin gives Evie. She makes Evie sound like she's from the South, that's for sure, but maybe it's a little too pronounced, not to mention a bit off-putting, and that's why it bothers me so much.

However, I should say that I didn't mind the narration much at all while listening to this third book. The story reeled me in pretty quickly, and I found that I barely noticed the things that annoyed me so much in the previous two audiobooks. Also, I've listened to a few audiobooks narrated by Emma Galvin since the last Arcana book, and I found them much more tolerable than I expected. I guess I've finally gotten past my dislike…which is great because she narrates a lot of YA novels that I'd hate to miss just because I couldn't stand the narrator.

This third novel in the Arcana Chronicles has reignited my interest in the series, and it's the first in the series that I've truly enjoyed. Cole has really upped the ante in this installment, providing just enough clues and more than enough excitement. And as always, she leaves the reader with an agonizing cliffhanger, which is admittedly what always has me coming back to this series.

GIF it to me straight:

I know! I'm as shocked as Moriarty that I actually liked this one, too!

About the author:

Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Immortals After Dark paranormal series and the young adult Arcana Chronicles. Her books have been translated into many foreign languages, garnered three RITA awards, and consistently appear on the bestseller lists in the U.S. and abroad.

Before becoming a writer, Cole was a world-ranked athlete, coach, and graduate student. She has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings. Two of her favorite places to visit include the rain forests of Central America and the Far North Queensland area of Australia (where, by the way, she would not recommend swimming outside of the stinger nets–at night).

Cole lives in Florida with her family and “far too many animals.” She spends any free time traveling and enjoys all things related to boats and water.

Find Kresley:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

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Labels: audiobooks, cover redesigns, kresley cole, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, reviews, simon schuster, tarot, the arcana chronicles

Stacking the Shelves # 56

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a way to share with everyone all the goodies you've received through out the week. 

Just click the covers to be taken to their goodreads pages. 

Purchased

Woo Hoo!!!! I love me a kindle deal. I own all of these in Audio, but now
I have the kindle editions too! :) 

That's it if you don't count this gem.. it was a freebie though. lol 

Oh Amazon, you make me laugh with the ridiculous titles you have. I can't wait to read this garbage. lol. That cover is classic. 

 This was a busy busy week at work. Semi stressful, I have so much to do and so little time. It's pretty much none stop.. but my day goes fast at least! :) 

This is how I power through it. 

Hope you all have a great week!! :) 

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Labels: stacking the shelves