Stacking the Shelves #65

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which we feature all the book goodness that we received, borrowed or purchased during the previous week. All links are to Goodreads.

Hi gorgeous people!  I skipped last week's STS because I didn't get much.  This week I got an Amazon gift card and I enjoyed myself getting a few books.  This holiday season has been hectic and stressful so far!

Purchased for Kindle (with a gift card!)

Another Little Piece of My Heart by Tracey Martin - I love music related books and this one sound like heartbreaking and fun (weird combination, right?)

Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer Armentrout - By the one and only Jennifer Armentrout, need I say more?

The Witch of Duva by Leigh Bardugo - I still have to read book two of the Grisha series, but these two novellas should be fun.

The Too-Clever Fox by Leigh Bardugo - Ditto

Chasing the Star Garden by Melanie Kasak - What won me over was the cover, it's breathtaking.

Proxy: An Avalon Novella by Mindee Arnett - There's a lot of hype for Avalon and I want to see what it's all about. 

For Review

The Taking by Kimberly Derting - Even though I still have to finish The Body Finder's series, I love Ms. Derting's writing. I can't wait for this one.

After the End by Amy Plum - Amy Plum is another writer that I love, her Revenants series is SO good.  This promises to be an awesome read. 

Thanks to HarperTeen and Edelweiss!

What's stacking your shelves this week? 

Stacking the Shelves #41

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which we feature all the book goodness that we received, borrowed or purchased during the previous week. All links are to Goodreads.

Hello gorgeous people!! Again, two weeks have passed before I got to do another STS... I've been crazy busy at work and I leave on a business trip next week too.  Anyway, I'm trying to limit the books I'm getting since BEA is fast approaching.  I do have some books that I got at the Annapolis Book Fair last week (see all about that here).

Purchased (Physical Books)

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood - I always wanted to read this one and since Ms. Spotswood was at the aforementioned book festival I got it just in time.  

Misfit by Jon Skovron - Ditto (er, except that Mr. Skovron was there too :)

Miranda's Big Mistake by Jill Mansell - I've heard wonderful things about this author and I couldn't resist the price.

The Fulfillment by LaVyrle Spencer - I adore LaVyrle, her books are so beautiful.  I read this one years ago, but I didn't have my own copy.

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman -  I liked her Green Angel series and this cover is both creepy and beautiful; I couldn't help myself!

I got the last three books at the used book sale at the Annapolis Book Festival for $1 each!

Purchased (or Free) for Kindle 

All the Paths of Shadows by Frank Tuttle - I love steampunk and this one looks awesome!

Blameless by Gail Carriger - This is book #3 of the Parasol Proctectorate series and it's amazing!  

Heartless by Gail Carriger - Book #3 of the series. I already finished both :)

Kismetology by Jaimie Admans - This one is a freebie and it looks so sweet.

Crossing the Line by Katie McGarry - I loved Pushing the Limits and this is a short novella (#1.5).

One More Day by Aprilynne Pike - This is also a novella from Pike's Life After Theft series (I've yet to read it)

Audible

Timeless by Gail Carriger - I got book #5 in the series in audio book since I'll be traveling next week and I can listen on the plane. 

For Review

The first two books in the series are a gift from the wonderful Hannah from The Irish Banana.  Thanks my friend!

If I Should Die by Amy Plum - I cannot wait to read this one, it's definitely going with me on the trip!

Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting - I need to read book #3 before this one, but I can't wait to see what Violet's gotten herself into this time.

Ink by Amanda Sun - This cover is stunning! Thank you to Harlequin Teen.

The Legend of Blue Eyes by B. Kristin McMichael - The author contacted my to review this one. Not only does it sounds good, but this cover is to die for. Thanks!

What's stacking your shelves this week?  Have you read any of these?

Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also a Fictional Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish

Like many of you I have many literary crushes, it will be hard to stick to ten this week!  Here are some of my  Top Ten character crushes:

1. Prince Ash from The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa - It's no secret that I absolutely positively adore Ash.

2.  Harry Potter from the series by the same name by J.K. Rowling - These books are amazing (so are the movies!) and I can't help but love "the boy that lived".  He is so brave and loyal, and full of love.

3.  Edward Cullen from the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer - I'm a big Twilight fan and I can't help but love that kind of selfless love.

4.  Jay Heaton from the Body Finder Series by Kimberly Derting - Although I'm behind in the series (I read the first two books), I admire this best-friend-turned-boyfriend for the understanding and support he gives Violet.

Stacking the Shelves #28

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which we feature all the book goodness that we received, borrowed or purchased during the previous week. All links are to Goodreads.

Purchased (physical books)

A Christmas Bride and Christmas Beau by Mary Balogh - I love her writing and I also love Christmas themed books :)

Purchased (or Free) for Kindle 

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting - Believe it or not, I haven't read this one yet (I know I have to!)

Prison Nation by Jenni Merritt - This book looks like a really interesting dystopian.

Stupid Perfect World by Scott Westerfeld - I LOVE his writing!  This one is a short novella.

Married by Mistake by Abbi Glines - A romance by Abbi Glines *sigh*  I love her writing, so I hope this one doesn't dissapoint. 

A Needful Heart by J.M. Madden - This is an adult book and it looks really good and sounds very intese.

Gift

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan - Hubby got me this one. This is book #3 of the Heroes of Olympus series.

What's stacking your shelves this week? 

Top Ten Most Anticipated Books of 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish

If the size of my TBR list in Goodreads is any indications 2013 is going to be a great year for YA.  I have so many books that I'm eager to get my hands (and eyes) on!  Most of them will probably turn out to be series (a lot of 'last' books coming up too!)

1.  If I Should Die by Amy Plum - This is the conclusion of the Revenants series, and after that cliffhanger, I just can't wait for this book. Oh my!  Did you see that there is going to be an 2.5 eBook?  The title is Die for Her and is due to be published in April (*swoons a little*)

2.  Divergent #3 by Veronica Roth - There is no even a title for the book yet, but I want it!

3.  The Final Descent by Rick Yancey - This is book number four and the conclusion of the Monstrumologist series. 

4.  Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3 by Laini Taylor - This is a yet-to-be title book, but I cannot get enough of this series!

5.  City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare - The conclusion (finally!) to the Mortal Instruments series.

6.  Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins - By the author of some of my favorite books, Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door, this book promises to be a favorite.

7.  Just One Day by Gayle Forman - If I Stay was an amazing read, this one should be great.

8.  The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen - I will read anything Sarah Dessen writes and I'm sure to love it.

9.  Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins - Love you Kaidan!

10. Shades of Earth by Beth Revis - Finally!  The conclusion to another great series. 

I knew I wouldn't be able to stop at ten!  Here are a few more:  The conclusion to the Body Finder series, the Darkness Rising series, the Wintercraft series, the Goddess Test series, and the Angelfire series; Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger, Crash by Lisa McMann, Dare You To by Katie McGarry and many more...

What books are you eagerly waiting for next year? 

Stacking The Shelves #6

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which we feature all the book goodness that we received, borrowed or purchased during the previous week. All links are to Goodreads.

Hi gorgeous people!  This week I don't have a many books since I had a huge haul last week after BEA (see it here!) So here's what I've got:

Kindle 

I can't remember, but I think these were either free or .99 cents!  Found these from other blogs or in Goodreads.

Oceans Between Us by Helen Scott Taylor

Sundial by C.F. Fruzetti and M.I. Pearsal

What a Boy Wants by Nyrae Dawn

Library

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John - I've heard wonderful things about this book and I finally found in at the library!

The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting - This is the third book in the Body Finder series which I adore.  Cannot wait to read it :)

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Hand - I've got this audio book yesterday and I'm already on disc two. So far, so good...

Fired Up by Jane Ann Krentz - Also and audio book, this is the start of the Dreamlight trilogy. 

That's it for me!  What is stacking your shelves this week?

Feature and Follow Friday

Feature and Follow Friday is an awesome blog-hop hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read

This week's features are @ Books of Love and @ Sinful Books this week's question is:

You are a matchmaker -- your goal, hook up two characters from two of your favorite books. Who would it be? How do you think it would go?

I am horrible at this type of question... Most of the time the main characters of books are paired fairly well (at least by the end of the book).  Okay, let me try...

How about pairing Katniss from The Hunger Games with Jay from The Body Finder series?  Katniss is so damaged by the end that I think a guy as sweet as Jay might be really good for her. 

Or, how about pairing Ellie from Angelfire with Beck from The Demon Trapper's Daughter, they are both strong and they hunt demons. 

Pretty lame, but it's all I got.  Who are you dying to hook up ;)

Stacking the Shelves #2

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which we feature all the book goodness that we received, borrowed or purchased during the previous week. All links are to Goodreads.

Purchased for Kindle

Until I Die by Amy Plum - I love Die for Me so I cannot wait to read the sequel!

She Speaks to Angels by Ami Blackwelder - This book looks pretty good and has a good rating in Amazon (I've had luck with books about angels lately ;)

Purchased (physical books)

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare - Enough said...

Immortal City by Scott Speer - Such a pretty cover and an original idea. 

Library

Croak by Gina Damico - This books looks interesting an funny, can't wait to read it.

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting - I'm a big fan of her Dead Finder series and I hear this new series is amazing as well.

Dead to You by Lisa McMann - I've read anything by Lisa McMann as well and I love them all!

Lost in Time by Melissa de la Cruz - I do love the Blue Blood series and I'm looking forward to catching up with the gang.

What is stacking your selves this week?

Please come celebrate Reading with ABC's first Blogiversary with me!  Click here for the giveaways and remember to check often as I will post more giveaways throughout the month. 

Top Ten YA Male Characters to Pine For

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish 

This week we have a Top Ten freebie and we get to choose our very own Top Ten.  This is my list of the dreamiest, handsomest, best male characters in YA:

1. Prince Ash from the Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa – Oh, my gosh!  I don’t even know where to start.  If you are familiar with my blog you know I absolutely adore Ash.  He is the epitome of every desirable characteristic in a man. LOVE ASH *period*

2. Jace from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare – Jace is handsome, loyal, loving, and he knows how to fight for what he wants.

3. Zach from the Shade Series by Jeri Smith-Ready – You have to appreciate a guy with an accent that is comfortable enough to wear a kilt, right?

4. Tucker from the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand – Tucker is so sweet, romantic, accepting, and loyal, I love him!

5. Edward Cullen from the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer – I know that a lot of you might not agree, but I happen to be a Twilight fan and I am Team Edward all the way!

6. Jax Stone from Breathe by Abbi Glines – Jax is not only handsome, rich and famous, but one of the best human beings I ever read about.  He is so caring and romantic that I have read the last part of this book many times.

7. Tod from the Soul Screamer series by Rachel Vincent – I have to confess that I was a fan of Nash until book three, after that I changes to be a Tod fan.  I think he’s the best of the brothers, what do you think?

8. Jay from the Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting -  I love Jay, he is so in love and he is not afraid to show it and put Violet first. Always.

9. Etienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – Oh St. Clair!  Although he’s judgment was a little off for a while there, he was triumphant at the end.  He is handsome and charismatic, but not perfect.  Love you!

10. Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – Love Harry Potter (what’s not to love?) after all he is the chosen one.  Harry is loyal, a great friend, and so courageous. 

I am dying to see your Top Ten this week!

Enter my 300 Follower Giveaway  here!

Top Ten Books I'm Excited to Read in 2012

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish

There are a lot of books in my to-be-read pile (just look in Goodreads!), but I think a lot of the books I want to read next year are sequels to series I already started (and there are too many to count).  Here are some of the books that I excited to read this year:

1.  Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton  - The sequel to Angelfire, one of my favorite books last year.

2.  Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel - I have been waiting for this book forever! Infinite Days was published in August of 2010 and the sequel is not due for publication until September, almost two years later!

3.  The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting - This will be book number three of the Body Finder series. Violet and Jay are one of my favorite couples ever!

4.  Insurgent by Veronica Roth - LOVED Divergent, need I say more?

5.  Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey - This is another book that is taking forever to get here!  It is the sequel to Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side which I loved.

6.  The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross - I really enjoy steampunk and specially The Girl in the Steel Corset.  I'm ready for the next American adventure!

7.  Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore - If you'd read Fire or Graceling I don't have to explain, right?

8.  My Life Next Door by Huntley Firtzpatrick - A contemporary YA romance, I love these.

9.  Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers - The cover is so cool, I like the image of a kick ass heroine.

10. A Million Suns by Beth Revis - What else can happen on board of the spaceship Godspeed? 

And many, many more! 

How about you?  What books are you most excited about in 2012?

Guest Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

As you might have noticed from the dire cry for help on the sidebar on my blog, I am taking graduate classes for a certificate and needless to say, it is a LOT of work.  Oh, I am reading all right, but not what I really want to read (I can’t wait for Christmas break!)  Jezebel from Jez’s Bookcase has been kind enough to volunteer to do guest reviews and posts for Reading with ABC. 

From Jez’s blog :” I'm a girl from a small, small country (north of Thailand, south of Singapore. You guess) who's simply addicted to books. I enjoy reading books of all genres quietly (which means no background music). Learning to draw and play decent music at the same time.”  Now without further ado, here is Jez’s review of The Pledge by Kimberly Derting:

Title: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting
Published: November 15th 2011 by Margaret K. McElderry
Source: Courtesy of  Simon and Schuster Galley Grab program
Grade Rate: B (my interpretation of Jez's four star rating)


In the violent country of Ludania, the language you speak determines what class you are, and there are harsh punishments if you forget your place—looking a member of a higher class in the eye can result in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina (Charlie for short) can understand all languages, a dangerous ability she’s been hiding her whole life. Her only place of release is the drug-filled underground club scene, where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. There, she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy who speaks a language she’s never heard, and her secret is almost exposed. Through a series of violent upheavals, it becomes clear that Charlie herself is the key to forcing out the oppressive power structure of her kingdom….

Jez's Review

I love The Pledge. Love. It. A little dystopian and a little fantasy. The idea that languages can separate you into classes and you can't change which class you're born into is quite interesting. Harsh, I know. Too bad Derting didn't create new languages like what Christopher Paolini did in Eragon.

The novel is well paced, there wasn't a page lacking of suspense and thrill. Language flowing and descriptive. It's told in Charlie's voice and the all-knowing narrator, since some of the moments crucial for understanding the plot doesn't happen to Charlie. I couldn't flip through (or rather, click through) the pages fast enough.

Charlie strikes me as a very protective sister, and she has a very strong and clear voice. She's brave with very few flaws. She's in love with the prince, but I don't find the immediate irresistible draw to a stranger convincing. And I don't get why the prince likes her so much, even when he barely knows her. Perhaps a few more scenes from Derting could explain the romance. Charlie just wasn't as lively as Katniss Everdeen in the The Hunger Games (my review here). Angelina is just lovable, and honestly, I like her a little(just a little) more than the older sister. I would like to see Charlie's magical power develop in the sequel, since her power is so limited in The Pledge.

The ending is sort of a closure for The Pledge, but written in a way that you're sure that there will be a sequel. Precise and gripping, I just can't wait for the next novel in the trilogy(yes, you heard me right : it's a trilogy!).

Overall, The Pledge is a decent novel. However, I read the novel because of it's plot instead of the characters.

The cover is so dang gorgeous! Black, my sort of cover! Just the image of Charlie wasn't the one I imagined and there's no mention of a dress with hood made out of black silk.

Thank you Jez!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Last Echo (The Body Finder #3)

Title: The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting
Published by: Harper Collins
Release date: April 17, 2012

Violet kept her morbid ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and her childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay Heaton. That is until forensic psychologist Sara Priest discovered Violet’s talent and invited her to use her gift to track down murderers. Now, as she works with an eclectic group of individuals—including mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe—it’s Violet’s job to help those who have been murdered by bringing their killers to justice. When Violet discovers the body of a college girl killed by “the girlfriend collector” she is determined to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new “relationship” and Violet may have caught his eye...

Why I want to read it:  Have you read 'The Body Finder' and 'Desires from the Death'?  If you havent' you are missing on a great series.  I LOVE Jay and her relationship with Vi is so deep and sweet that I can't wait to see where is goes (pretty please Ms. Derting don't make it a love triangle with Rafe.)