In My Mailbox (19)

In My Mailbox is a meme that I picked up from The Story Siren's blog. It's where we share the new books that we've gotten for that week with our readers. These books could be from the library, the store, or from the writers/publishers for review. Whatever the reason, I will share my new books every Sunday!

Mailbox

  

Since I've been at school for the past two weeks, I got a very nice surprise when I finally came home for Christmas break: Books! These books were waiting for me in my room and I was so excited to see what had come. Some of these are for book tours in January, but I've already dug into the Shadow Falls novels. The first book was really amazing and I'm about 50 pages into the second one and I'm loving it so far too! Check back later for the review of these awesome looking books! 

Library

I FINALLY got to go to the library and pick up some new releases that I hadn't gotten the chance to read while I was at school. I'm super excited to read Lola and the Boy Next Door because I loved the first book so much. What I'm really intrigued to read is Dollhouse because the Kardashian sisters wrote it together. I read the synopsis and it sounds eerily like their own lives, but I guess we'll see how I like it! The rest of these books look great, so hopefully they're as good as I expect them to be. 

Half Price Books

 

For Cyber Monday, Half Price Books was having FREE SHIPPING, so I got these two books for wayyy cheap prices. I've wanted to read Falling For Hamlet for so long and now that I own it I won't have to wait much longer! Body Check is a sports romance that looked really cute, so I added that one too because it was only 99 cents. I'd have to say that this was my best Cyber Monday deal to date! 

That's it this week! What did you all get in your mailbox? Please share :)

Book Review: Born At Midnight by C.C. Hunter

Summary: Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams,  Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever.  Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.”  Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either.  Or does she?  They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason.  As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas.  Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past.  Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart. 

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

Review: Right off the bat, this book dumps you right in the middle of a huge fight between Kylie and her parents. No time was spent with a boring recap and explanation for everything that happens with the paranormal beings in the world because the main character is clueless to everything too. All of this made the book really interesting from the beginning and made me want to read more in order to understand why and how everything was happening. 

I loved everyone Kylie met at the camp, but what I loved more was the love triangle. Yes, love triangles get a little bit annoying, but when you meet Derek and Lucas, you can completely understand why it's a love triangle. At first I liked Derek, then Lucas, then Derek, then Lucas again. I seriously couldn't make up my mind which one I liked better because they're both so perfect in their own ways. Kylie has a hard time understanding the paranormal side of life, but they're both there for her and are super sweet. 

Not only were the characters awesome, the added mystery made the book great too. Everyone was accusing each other of breaking into the zoo and messing with the animals, so tension was high between each of the paranormal species. I liked how there were werewolves, vampires, fairies, and witches so there was a good mix of creatures instead of mainly focused on one kind. Overall this book was great and because it ended with a cliff-hanger, it really left me wanting to know what happened next. So once I finished this one, I picked up the next one just to figure out what happens next with Kylie, Lucas, Derek, and even more of their paranormal problems.

Follow My Book Blog Friday (19)

This is a meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee, where book bloggers answer a question each week and check out how others answered it. It's a cool way for bloggers and viewers to connect and learn more about each other!

Question: When you've read a book, what do you do with it? (Keep it, give it away, donate it, sell it, swap it..?)

Answer: Ummm can I just say that whoever gives away all of the books they read is crazy. CRAZY!

I keep probably 90% of the books I read that I either bought or got for review. I only get rid of the ones I really didn't like because my library has probably quadrupled since I've started this blog. Seriously, by the time I move out and get my own house, I am going to have to have an entire floor dedicated to my books. Or it'd look something like this: 

But you know what? Seeing this many books make me so excited because they would all be MINE. There's just something about seeing all of the books I own that makes me proud to own so many. No matter what mood I'm in, there will always be a book for me to read. If I was locked in my house because of a snow storm or something, I would never get bored because I'd have an endless supply of books in my hands. So back to the question. When I'm done reading a book, I put it with all of my other books, right where it belongs. I'm pretty sure I'm physically incapable of voluntarily getting rid of any of my books. But I don't think there's absolutely anything wrong with that :)

***Giveaway Winners***

I was very excited to be a part of the Head Over Heels book tour because I knew this book would be amazing! I have two copies to give away to my amazing followers and the two lucky winners are: 

Wfnren

Linda McDonald 

I have emailed the winners and they have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Thank you so much to everyone who entered! I hope these two lucky winners enjoy this great book! 

Book Review: The Fifth Woman by G. William Parker

Summary: Naked and dead, the body of a high roller was found in a Vegas hotel suite. He was insured for twenty million dollars.

Ten years later during an ordinary audit, Rick Morgan, Chief Audit Executive for the insurance company learns of the extra ordinary death benefit. At first he’s curious, but with facts being cold, vague or missing, his gut tells him there is more. Digging into the past with the help of Vince, a former homicide detective, a bizarre puzzle emerges. Which piece is the mysterious disappearance of the former United States Congressman, the fatal car wreck that left three little girls orphaned or the FBI who wants the investigation dropped?

Gathering the pieces, someone is always a step a head. But who? The elegant, conservative Human Resources VP? The playful, sexually starved Branch Manager? The gorgeous woman with a secret past? The stunning but shrewd corporate attorney? Or the mystery woman in San Francisco?

“Not everything is as it appears to be”—a motto Rick must remember when putting the pieces together … all twenty million.

Review: I normally don't read mysteries, so I tried to go into this book with an open mind. Comparing it the mystery movies or shows I've watched, this book really wasn't that bad. There were parts that I wasn't a big fan of, but over all it was a pretty enjoyable book that gave enough new information to keep you interested for the entire book. 

Rick was an okay protagonist, but the way he was so smooth with the ladies kind of bugged me. It was like every single girl he ran into was gorgeous, 5'5'', and 120 pounds. So not only was he meeting these insanely pretty women, they all practically fell in love with him after only knowing him for a few hours. I liked how adamant he was about solving the case and wouldn't scare easily, I just wish it was less focus on his many, many romances and more focused on his case. 

The case Rick was trying to solve was pretty interesting, involving a case of a 2 million life insurance policy. I also liked how a big part of the case was whether the deaths were real or murder and everything seemed to be connected to 10 years ago. So many people were involved in this case that it was kind of hard to keep track of, but it all made sense in the end. I didn't like, though, how Rick would say something was "off" with like 5 different people because then it was obvious and predictable that they had something to do with the mystery. I would have liked it better if it were a surprise and he didn't have such in-depth intuition about everyone. Overall this was a decent mystery novel, there were just a couple of things that could have changed to make this book a really intriguing mystery.

Waiting on Wednesday (20)

This is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where every Wednesday bloggers highlight a book that they are eagerly anticipating the release of! 

Bittersweet

By Sarah Ockler

Release Date: January 3rd

Summary: Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been. 

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life...and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done. 

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last.... 

The first thing that pulled me into this book was the cover. It's so simple, but so cute with the heart pieced together like a puzzle. Then, when I read the summary, I knew I had to read this book. I really like how Hudson loves cooking cupcakes at her mom's diner, because there's always something unique about main characters of ya books that make them hard not to like. Hudson sounds like a sweet girl and I really can't see how this new mysterious guy walks into her life and if they'll end up together.

Book Review: Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

Summary: Two irresistible boys. One unforgettable summer.

Lori can’t wait for her summer at the lake. She loves wakeboarding and hanging with her friends--including the two hotties next door. With the Vader brothers, she's always been just one of the guys. Now that she’s turning sixteen, she wants to be seen as one of the girls, especially in the eyes of Sean, the older brother. But that’s not going to happen--not if the younger brother, Adam, can help it.

Lori plans to make Sean jealous by spending time with Adam. Adam has plans of his own for Lori. As the air heats up, so does this love triangle. Will Lori’s romantic summer melt into one hot mess?

Review: So this is the second time I read this book, but I think it was even better than the first time! I love Jennifer Echols sosososo much, so it's kind of impossible for me to hate her books. I first fell in love with The Boys Next Door (the first book in this series) a long time ago and I've read it at least five times since then. When I heard that a sequel was being written, I freaked out because I love Adam and Lori so much. So, of course, when I read Endless Summer, I fell in love all over again. 

The best part about this book was that I was finally able to see Adam and Lori officially together. Yes, Lori has more stupid plans and Adam messes up with his temper, but they're so cute together and I LOVED reading about their relationship :) And their story never got boring because both of them kept on coming up with these plans that we all know are ridiculous and are bound to backfire. Even though they keep on being stupid when it comes to being with each other, they're so cute that I just can't get enough of them. 

So if you haven't already, pick up this book, or any book by Jennifer Echols for that matter. Her stories are so cute and will honestly keep you reading all day and night. So get one of her books. Now. You won't regret it :)