Stacking the Shelves (18)

Stacking the Shelves is a new meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where bloggers share what they got throughout the week!

From the bookstore

 

Since I've gotten three boxes of review books in the past month, I decided I should lay off buying any more fiction books until I've made a large dent into the ones I already have. Half Price Books was having a 20% sale for Labor Day, so I knew I HAD to go and ended up finding these fabulous cookbooks! I'm kind of obsessed with cupcakes right now, so when I saw these books there I just had to have them! They are full of so many adorable recipes and I can't wait to try them all out!

And that's all for me! What did you all add to your shelves this week? I'd love to hear :)

Follow My Book Blog Friday (53)

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: What book are you reading right now? What do you think of it? 

Answer: 

The Little Woods

By McCormick Templeman

Summary: Are the woods behind St. Bede's Academy really haunted, or does bad stuff just happen there? When Calista Wood, a new student, arrives midway through her junior year, St. Bede's feels like a normal school . . . until she discovers that a girl had disappeared a couple of months earlier. Some kids think she ran away, others think she was murdered, but it's only when Cally starts digging around that she finds the startling truth.

Watch as Cally enters a world of privilege, weekend-long parties, high school romances, and . . . well-kept secrets. This page-turner will appeal to teens looking for a fast-paced thriller. Written in a voice at once gripping and crystal clear, debut novelist, McCormick Templeman, will take readers on a twisting and turning journey as only a "new girl" can experience.

I normally don't go for scary books, but this one is pretty good so far! Since I never read "thriller" books, though, I'm super scared that something complete insane is going to pop up and freak me out...

But hopefully that doesn't happen! I really like the storyline, so I guess we'll see how it turns out once I'm done! Be sure to stop by sometime later for the review :) Hope you have an awesome Friday! 

Book Review: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire

Don't You Wish

By Roxanne St. Claire

Release Date: July 10, 2012

Source: Publisher

Summary: When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.  

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.

But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn't as simple as you think.
Review: It has been quite some time since I've read a really great YA contemporary, so Don't You Wish was EXACTLY what I needed! With a fun story about a nobody waking up to be a somebody and realizing that life wasn't exactly what she had wished for. 

Annie Nutter is a girl everyone can relate to; she just can't seem to fit in with her braces, band-geek status, and her perpetual crushes that result in longing stares from the front of the bus. And her family completely embraces their last name. Her Dad is an inventor who always has a new idea up his sleeve, her brother can't go one sentence without fitting in a burp, and her mother is, well, her mother. So when a huge storm hits Annie's home and she wakes up the next morning as super rich, popular, and gorgeous Ayla Monroe, Annie has no idea what to do. Stuck in a life of a girl who is exactly like the kind of people she has spent her entire life admiring, Annie really isn't sure the life she's always wished for is the life she wants anymore. But how can she get back to her normal life? Does she even want to? 

It's fantastic watching Annie adjust to living the life of Ayla, who seems to be flawless on the outside but turns out to be the stereotypical mean girl on the inside. Her new best friends are both as shallow as Ayla seems to be, so it's no surprise they notice something is up when Annie comes along in Ayla's body. You can't help but root for Annie as she finds herself slipping away from the popular life she has fallen into and wanting to create a life full of meaning and actual feeling. And that feeling includes a certain cutie named Charlie, who is the school's scholarship kid. I absolutely love Charlie and grew so attached to him as the book went on. I wish I could build my own space continuum machine that would let me have Charlie all to myself! 

But enough about me! I loved the whole idea of this book and enjoyed every second of it. You're left guessing what will happen until the last page, which is really hard to find in a book these days. As Roxanne St. Claire's debut YA novel, I'd say she definitely hit this one out of the park!

Waiting On Wednesday (55)

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

Ironskin 

By Tina Connolly

Release Date: October 2, 2012

Summary: Jane Eliot wears an iron mask. 

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin. 

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a "delicate situation"—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help. 

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey. 

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

This book sounds so mysterious yet so intriguing at the same time. That's so cool that the main character wears an iron mask to cover the scars she got from the war. But who is Rochart and how is he turning ugly women into beautiful women? And why can't he love Jane?? I'm really excited for this one to come out so that I can figure out all of the answers! And the cover isn't too bad either :)

Weekly Roundup [8/28-9/3]

Holy cow, it's already September! That's so insane! Where did the time go? Well that just means another week went by and it's time for another weekly roundup! Here's what you've missed in the past week! 

Book Reviews

Deception by Kris Kennedy

Memes

Blogspiration (12)

Waiting On Wednesday (54)

Follow My Book Blog Friday (52)

Stacking the Shelves (17)

Book Review: Deception by Kris Kennedy

Deception

By Kris Kennedy

Release Date: July 31, 2012

Source: Publisher

Summary: A silk merchant and a dashing con man join forces in the second scorching medieval romance from Kris Kennedy.

Breaking and entering to reclaim her corrupt late father's ledger comes surprisingly easily to Sophia Darnly. But is it mere coincidence that her misdeed unexpectedly reunites her with Kier, the outlaw lover who abandoned her years ago? Time has not erased Sophia from Kier's heart, nor tamed her fiery spirit. She boldly insinuates herself into Kier's plan for revenge, believing the ledger will ensure her survival. But Kier knows that with or without the ledger, she's as good as dead.

Kier is a dangerous, intoxicating potion for Sophia, but he's on a mission of revenge, and can't allow even the woman he once loved to stop him. The danger mounts as they take on the leader of a powerful consortium who needs the fabled Darnly ledger—and all its damning details about the wealthiest merchants of England—to execute his nefarious plan. He also needs Sophia—the last witness to his scheme—dead.

The coals of their rekindled passion burn hot as Sophia and Kier set their trap. But when the duo discovers they too are the targets of a deadly deception, the fate of their love, and of England itself, lies in the balance.
Review: Normally I love historical romances, but I just couldn't really get into this one. The characters are interesting enough, with a hard-headed Sophia who can really hold her own around dark and dangerous men. Kier is your typical bad boy on the outside and softy on the inside. He works in a dirty trading business set on revenge, but he has a soft spot in his heart for Sophia. 

Sophia and Kier have a past that's not really clear to the reader, but we know that they used to be together, but something happened to split them up. Now, they're brought back together by mysterious ledger that outlines the most dangerous, scandalous trades in Europe. But the ledger isn't the only thing causing trouble with Kier; it's the fiery Sophia who seems even more hot-headed and irresistible than before. 

The story itself was just okay, but things tended to be a bit jumpy and lagging. Some parts dragged on while others happened too fast, so it was hard to put everything together without getting a little confused. Sophia and Kier did have a nice steamy relationship, but I think it would have been even better if we got a better sense of their past other than what was revealed half way through the book. 

I still loved the time period and the mystery/suspense of Sophia and Kier trying to take revenge on those who had done them wrong, but I just feel like there could have been more to the book. The author's writing style was also a little hard to follow at times, If the storyline was more clear and the plot wasn't so jumpy, this would have been a really great book. If you like historical romances, I would say to give this book a shot, but it's definitely not for everyone.

Stacking the Shelves (17)

Stacking the Shelves is a new meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where bloggers share what they got throughout the week!

From Author/Publisher

 

I am SO excited about all of the books I added to my shelves! Since it's labor day weekend, I finally got to go home and all of these goodies were waiting for me :) Now remember, these are a month's worth of books, so I didn't get them all in one week! But I was so happy to explore the boxes of books when I got home! They all look so good and I really can't wait to read all of them! Make sure you stop by throughout the next couple of weeks to see my reviews of these awesome books :)

And that's all I've added to my shelves this week! What did you all get? I'd love to hear! In the meantime, hope you have a great weekend :)