Random Reads #214, December 31st

Random Reads is a monthly meme (that I'm going to do weekly) hosted by I'm Loving Books to read some books that have been on our TBR piles for a long time. Using Random.org, I got 4818 which turned out to be Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo! It's been on my TBR pile since June 18th 2014, and I added it because I've really enjoyed her books! Happy reading! 

Third Sentence Thursday #229, December 31st

Third Sentence Thursday is a weekly meme which likes to watch fireworks especially while eating a cookie!

1) Take the book you are currently reading and open it to a random page. Share the third full sentence on that page. (If there isn't a third one – like at the end of a chapter or a blank page – you can share the third sentence of the book or just choose another random page.) Feel free to share more than one sentence, if you feel the need to do so.

2) Review this sentence anyway you want (funny and silly reviews encouraged)

3) Post a link to your sentence at Words I Write Crazy (This Blog)

4) Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentences!

"I lay on my back with one arm underneath my head, buried under my sleeping bag, with Ember's letters spread out around me." -Crystal Kingdom by Amanda Hocking, page 309.

Yeah, not the worst case scenario!

What are your guy's 3rd lines? Link up below!

Will the Time Come #239, December 31st

Every Thursday I am going to list a book which I really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! Thanks to Jodie from Books for Company for this meme!

Want to Join?

-Pick a book you have been meaning to read

-Do a post telling us about the book    

-Link the post up in the linky  

-Visit the other blogs

From Goodreads:

I WILL TELL YOU THE SAME THING I TELL EVERY SLAVE.

THE RESISTANCE HAS TRIED TO PENETRATE THIS SCHOOL COUNTLESS TIMES. I HAVE DISCOVERED IT EVERY TIME. 

IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH THE RESISTANCE, IF YOU CONTACT THEM, IF YOU THINK OF CONTACTING THEM, I WILL KNOW 

AND I WILL DESTROY YOU.

Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Why the time hasn't come yet...
Well, it sounds like it'll press my buttons, so I'm kinda scared of reading it! Plus, I read a teaser, and it proved that! Though I really want to read it! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

WWW Wednesday #246, December 30th

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'’ll read next?

Thanks to MizB of Should Be Writing now A Daily Rhythm for starting this meme!

I'm reading A Drop of Night, and it's so creepy and great! Really enjoying it!

I'm also reading Ice Kissed, it's such a great sequel!

I read Unforgiven, and it was so great to have Cam's story! I want more of this world!

I'm going to be reading Thicker Than Water, and I can't wait, it sounds really great!

What about you guys? Happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday #242, December 30th

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

Night Study by Maria V. Snyder
Expected Publication: January 26th, 2016
From Goodreads:
New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder transports readers back to the realms of Sitia and Ixia in an exciting new Study novel full of magic, danger and intrigue. 

Ever since being kidnapped from the Illiais Jungle as a child, Yelena Zaltana's life has been fraught with peril. But the recent loss of her Soulfinding abilities has endangered her more than ever before. As she desperately searches for a way to reclaim her magic, her enemies are closing in, and neither Ixia nor Sitia is safe for her anymore. Especially since the growing discord between the two countries and the possibility of a war threatens everything Yelena holds dear.  

Valek is determined to protect Yelena, but he's quickly running out of options. The Commander suspects that his loyalties are divided, and he's been keeping secrets from Valek…secrets that put him, Yelena and all their friends in terrible danger. As they uncover the various layers of the Commander's mysterious plans, they realize it's far more sinister than they could have ever imagined.

Spider Game by Christine Feehan
Expected Publication: January 26th, 2016
From Goodreads:
In the new GhostWalker novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Viper Game, a trained killer meets his match in a woman whose very kiss can stop a heart.

The Cajun dive in the middle of the godforsaken swamps wasn’t exactly Trap Dawkins’ idea of fun. But the GhostWalker wasn’t there for a good time. He was looking for her. Cayenne. It’s where she found her victims. Poor suckers. Then again, who wouldn’t want to leave a place like this with a woman like her?

It’s not Cayenne’s fault. Locked up, experimented on and never knowing kindness, she was bred this way—with a heart of pure venom. Trap understands her. He survived his own dark past and he shares her desire for getting even. But now Trap’s greatest danger is Cayenne herself. Because what’s inside her is hard to control—especially when it’s aroused by a lover as reckless as Trap.

Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace
Expected Publication: January 26th, 2016
From Goodreads:
For fans of Holly Black and Nova Ren Suma, a gripping, hauntingly atmospheric novel about murder, revenge, and a world where monsters—human and otherwise—lurk at the fringes.

When seventeen-year-old Breezy Lin wakes up in a shallow grave one year after her death, she doesn’t remember who killed her or why. All she knows is that she’s somehow conscious—and not only that, she’s able to sense who around her is hiding a murderous past. In life, Breezy was always drawn to the elegance of the universe and the mystery of the stars. Now she must set out to find answers and discover what is to become of her in the gritty, dangerous world to which she now belongs—where killers hide in plain sight and a sinister cult is hunting for strange creatures like her. What she finds is at once empowering, redemptive, and dangerous.

Tense, complex, and wholly engaging, Shallow Graves is a stunning first novel from Kali Wallace. 

Front Lines by Michael Grant
Expected Publication: January 26th, 2016
From Goodreads:
Perfect for fans of The Book Thief and Code Name Verity, New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant unleashes an epic, genre-bending, and transformative new series that reimagines World War II with girl soldiers fighting on the front lines.

World War II, 1942. A court decision makes women subject to the draft and eligible for service. The unproven American army is going up against the greatest fighting force ever assembled, the armed forces of Nazi Germany.

Three girls sign up to fight. Rio Richlin, Frangie Marr, and Rainy Schulterman are average girls, girls with dreams and aspirations, at the start of their lives, at the start of their loves. Each has her own reasons for volunteering: Rio fights to honor her sister; Frangie needs money for her family; Rainy wants to kill Germans. For the first time they leave behind their homes and families—to go to war.

These three daring young women will play their parts in the war to defeat evil and save the human race. As the fate of the world hangs in the balance, they will discover the roles that define them on the front lines. They will fight the greatest war the world has ever known.

The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos
Expected Publication: January 26th, 2016
From Goodreads:
All Imogene Scott knows of her mother is the bedtime story her father told her as a child. It's the story of how her parents met: he, a forensic pathologist, she, a mysterious woman who came to identify a body. A woman who left Imogene and her father when she was a baby, a woman who was always possessed by a powerful loneliness, a woman who many referred to as troubled waters.

When Imogene is seventeen, her father, now a famous author of medical mysteries, strikes out in the middle of the night and doesn't come back. Neither Imogene's stepmother nor the police know where he could've gone, but Imogene is convinced he's looking for her mother. She decides to put to use the skills she's gleaned from a lifetime of her father's books to track down a woman she's never known, in order to find him and, perhaps, the answer to the question she's carried with her for her entire life. 

Rebecca Podos' debut is a powerful, affecting story of the pieces of ourselves that remain mysteries even to us - the desperate search through empty spaces for something to hold on to.

I want these books to come out! I've read most of them, but not all, and besides, other people want to read them, and have the chance to! What about you guys? Happy reading!

Teaser Tuesday #246, December 29th

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teaser comes from Dear Aim by Iris Johansen, page 103.

"God, he was bossy. she was tempted to tell him to go to hell and dig out the computer herself and--"

And something occurred to her! I know what, but what are some guesses? What about you guys? Happy reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #238, December 28th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date  where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #237
Teaser Tuesday #245
WWW Wednesday #245
WOW #242
Will the Time Come #238
Third Sentence Thursday #228
Random Reads #213
First Lines Friday #232
The Reward Challenge Update #223
Follow Friday #215
How Well I Stuck to It #67
Wrote that Review Update #72

Week 52 Reviews:
All Our Pretty Songs
Dirty Wings
About a Girl
The Midnight Watch
The Bone Labyrinth

Random:
Sarah McCarry Author Page
Alex Kava Author Page
Andrea Portes Author Page
Beth Webb Author Page
Elissa Sussman Author Page
Jennifer Brown Author Page
Julia Durango Author Page
Kiki Sulivan Author Page
Sarah Prineas Author Page
Sean Olin Author Page
Sean Williams Author Page
Tom Isbell Author Page
Virginia Boecker Author Page

OK, so I got 27 posts in 7 days, so yeah, a pretty good week, plus there was Christmas, which I hope everybody had a good one! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read All Fall Down, Assassin's Heart, Beautiful Redemption, Captive, Daughters of Ruin, Pretty Amy, The Next Forever, Dear Cassie, A Drop of Night, The Fixer, Freeze Warning, Mist, Oblivion, Sword and Verse, Talon, Tragedy Girl, You Were Here, Wicked, and Zodiac.

A new series of global proportions -- from master of intrigue, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter.

Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:

1. She is not crazy.
2. Her mother was murdered.
3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.

As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her -- so there's no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keeping his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.

Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can't control Grace -- no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do. Her past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn't stop it, Grace isn't the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.

Falyn Fairchild can walk away from anything. Having already left her car, her education, and even her parents, the daughter of the next governor of Colorado is back in her hometown, broke and waiting tables for the Bucksaw Café. After every shift, Falyn adds to her shoebox of cash, hoping to one day save enough to buy her a plane ticket to the only place she can find forgiveness: Eakins, Illinois.

The moment Taylor Maddox is seated in Falyn’s section at the Bucksaw, she knows he’s trouble. Taylor is charming, breaks promises, and gorgeous even when covered in filth—making him everything Falyn believes a hotshot firefighter to be. Falyn isn’t interested in becoming another statistic, and for a Maddox boy, a disinterested girl is the ultimate challenge.

Once Falyn learns where Taylor calls home, everything changes. In the end, Maddox persistence is met with Falyn’s talent for leaving, and for the first time, Taylor may be the one to get burned.

Game of Thrones meets Graceling in a thrilling debut that follows the four fierce princesses of enemy kingdoms as their worlds collide in the throes of war.

Rhea, Cadis, Suki, and Iren have lived together since they were children. They are called sisters. They are not. They are called equals. They are not. They are princesses…and they are enemies.

Not long ago, a brutal war ravaged their kingdoms, and Rhea’s father was the victor. As a gesture of peace, King Declan brought the daughters of his rivals to live under his protection—and his ever-watchful eye. For ten years the girls have trained together as diplomats and warriors, raised to accept their thrones and unite their kingdoms in peace.

But there is rarely peace among sisters. Sheltered Rhea was raised to rule everyone—including her “sisters”—but she’s cracking under pressure. The charismatic Cadis is desperately trying to redeem her people from their actions during the war. Suki guards deep family secrets that isolate her, and quiet Iren’s meekness is not what it seems.

All plans for peace are shattered when the palace is attacked. As their intended futures lie in ashes, Rhea, Cadis, Suki, and Iren must decide where their loyalties lie: to their nations, or to each other.

Five gifted teenagers are selected out of hundreds of other candidates to fly to France and help with the excavation of a vast, underground palace buried a hundred feet below the suburbs of Paris. Built in the 1780's to hide an aristocratic family and a mad duke during the French Revolution, the palace was sealed after the aristocrats fled there. No one has set foot in it for over two centuries.

Or so they thought.

But nothing is as it seems, and the teenagers—bitter, iron-hearted Anouk, gentle Will, bubbly Lilly, and crazy Jules— soon find themselves embroiled in a game far more sinister, and dangerous, than they could possibly have imagined. An evil spanning centuries is waiting for them in the depths. . .

You cannot escape the palace.

You cannot guess its secrets.

This thriller YA is Scandal meets Veronica Mars.

Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has spent her entire life on her grandfather's ranch. But when her estranged sister Ivy uproots her to D.C., Tess is thrown into a world that revolves around politics and power. She also starts at Hardwicke Academy, the D.C. school for the children of the rich and powerful, where she unwittingly becomes a fixer for the high school set, fixing teens’ problems the way her sister fixes their parents’ problems.

And when a conspiracy surfaces that involves the family member of one of Tess's classmates, love triangles and unbelievable family secrets come to light and life gets even more interesting—and complicated—for Tess.

Perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars and Heist Society, readers will be clamoring for this compelling teen drama with a political twist.

Experience the epic love story of OBSIDIAN as told by its hero, Daemon Black…

I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it.

And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are.

But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game.

Falling for Katy—a human—won't just place her in danger. It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen...

Raisa was just a child when she was sold to work as a slave in the kingdom of Qilara. Despite her young age, her father was teaching her to read and write, grooming her to take his place as a Learned One. In Qilara, the Arnathim, like Raisa, are the lowest class, and literacy is a capital offense. What’s more, only the king, prince, tutor, and tutor-in-training are allowed to learn the very highest order language, the language of the gods. So when the tutor-in-training is executed for teaching slaves this sacred language, and Raisa is selected to replace her, Raisa knows any slipup on her part could mean death.

Keeping her secret is hard enough, but the romance that’s been growing between her and Prince Mati isn’t helping matters. Then Raisa is approached by the Resistance—an underground army of slave rebels—to help liberate Arnath slaves. She wants to free her people, but that would mean aiding a war against Mati. As Raisa struggles with what to do, she discovers a secret that the Qilarites have been hiding for centuries—one that, if uncovered, could bring the kingdom to its knees.

 Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

Of course Anne would be drawn to Blake. He’s good looking, he’s friendly, and they both bring sob stories to the table: her parents died in a car wreck, his girlfriend, Cara, drowned. Of course Blake would understand what she’s gone through. And of course they can help each other work through the pain. It’s like it was meant to be.

But just as Anne starts to feel she’s finally found something good in all the tragedy, she can’t ignore signs that something’s off. Her friends rarely let her be alone with Blake. Even those closest to Blake seem uneasy around him. And then there are the rumors about the death of Cara, whose body was never recovered. Rumors that suggest Blake’s pain is hiding something darker than Anne can even begin to comprehend . . .

Grief turned Jaycee into a daredevil, but can she dare to deal with her past?

On the anniversary of her dardevil brother's death, Jaycee attempts to break into Jake's favorite hideout—the petrifying ruins of an insane asylum. Joined by four classmates, each with their own brand of disfunction, Jaycee discovers a map detailing her brother's exploration and the unfinished dares he left behind.

As a tribute to Jake, Jaycee vows to complete the dares, no matter how terrifying or dangerous. What she doesn't bargain on is her eccentric band of friends who challenge her to do the unthinkable: reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother.

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans.

Twenty-two year old Ivy Morgan isn’t your average college student. She, and others like her, know humans aren’t the only thing trolling the French Quarter for fun… and for food. Her duty to the Order is her life. After all, four years ago, she lost everything at the hands of the creatures she’d sworn to hunt, tearing her world and her heart apart.

Ren Owens is the last person Ivy expected to enter her rigidly controlled life. He’s six feet and three inches of temptation and swoon-inducing charm. With forest-green eyes and a smile that’s surely left a stream of broken hearts in its wake, he has an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to make her yearn for everything he has to offer. But letting him in is as dangerous as hunting the cold-blooded killers stalking the streets. Losing the boy she loved once before had nearly destroyed her, but the sparking tension that grows between them becomes impossible for Ivy to deny. Deep down, she wants… she needs more than what her duty demands of her, what her past has shaped for her.

But as Ivy grows closer to Ren, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying secrets that could shatter the frail bond between them. There’s something he’s not telling her, and one thing is for certain. She’s no longer sure what is more dangerous to her—the ancient beings threatening to take over the town or the man demanding to lay claim to her heart and her soul.

Wrote that Review Update #72, December 27th

If you want to participate, set a certain amount of reviews to write, and once you make that goal, you can get a reward!

My reviews to reward is writing all of the reviews of the week, and I motivated myself to write my review for ,  so I have  of  reviews written! My reward is !

And as always, I want to review this week's reviews!

What about you guys? Happy reading!

How Well I Stuck to It #67, December 27th

So I decided that I should have accountability on sticking to what should be in a week, so I'm doing How Well I Stuck to It every Sunday, because my schedule should be fixed in by now!

Week 1:
All Fall Down by Ally Carter, Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers, Beautiful Redemption by Jamie McGuire, Captive by Aimee Carter, Daughters of Ruin by K.D. Castner, Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein, The Next Forever by Lisa Burstein, Dear Cassie by Lisa Burstein, A Drop of Night by Stefan Backmann, The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Freeze Warning by Susan Krinard, Mist by Susan Krinard, Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan, Talon by Julie Kagawa, Tragedy Girl by Christine Hurley Deriso, Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout, You Were Here by Cori McCarthy, Zodiac by Romina Russell

Tour Books: NA.

Review Books: NA.

NetGalley: 5. Check.

Edelweiss: 6. Check.

Meme Books: 2. Check.

Rereads: NA.

New Books:  6. Check.

So a pretty good week! I like it, and I can't wait to read it! What about you guys? Happy reading!

Andrea Portes Author Page

The Story: I got Anatomy of a Misfit from Edelweiss, and it looked really fantastic, and I enjoyed it so much! And now I want to read her next book, The Fall of Butterflies!

Website

Stand Alone's: Anatomy of a Misfit and my review, The Fall of Butterflies and my review, Liberty: The Spy Who (Kind Of) Liked Me and my review, This is Not a Ghost Story and my review, Creeping Beauty and my review.

Alex Kava Author Page

The Story: I've seen the Maggie O'Dell series around and it looks really great, and I really want to read it! And yeah that I can read the new prequel, Before Evil, so I can read the series in order!

Website

Series: Maggie O'Dell, Ryder Creed

Maggie O'Dell: Before Evil and her site, my review, A Perfect Evil and her site, my review, Split Second and her site, my review, The Soul Catcher and her site, my review, At the Stroke of Madness and her site, my review, A Necessary Evil and her site, my review, Exposed and her site, my review, Black Friday and her site, my review, Damaged and her site, my review, A Breath of Hot Air and her site, my review, Hotwire and his site, my review, Slices of Night and her site, my review, Fireproof and her site, my review, Storm Season and her site, my review, Stranded and her site, my review.

Ryder Creed (Spin off Series of *Maggie O'Dell*): Off the Grid and her site, my review, Breaking Creed and her site, my review, Silent Creed and her site, my review, Reckless Creed and her site, my review, Lost Creed and her site, my review, Desperate Creed and her site, my review, Hidden Creed and her site, my review.

Stand Alone's: One False Move and her site, my review, Whitewash and her site, my review.

Virginia Boecker Author Page

The Story: The Witch Hunter was coming out, and it looked really fantastic, and then I just had to read it! And when I did, it was just so fantastic, and I can't wait for more books by her!

Website

Series: The Witch Hunter.

The Witch Hunter: The Healer, my review, The Witch Hunter and her site, my review, The King Slayer and her site, my review.

Tom Isbell Author Page

The Story: I got copies of The Prey and The Capture from Edelweiss, and I can't wait to read them, they look so fantastic!

Series: The Prey

The Prey: The Prey and my review, The Capture and my review, The Release and my review.

Sean Williams Author Page

The Story: I got copies of Crashland and Hollowgirl from Edelweiss, and I can't wait to read them, they look so great, and I can't wait to read the whole series!

Website

Series: Twinmaker.

Twinmaker: Twinmaker and his site, my review, I, Q and his site, my review, Crashland and his site, my review, Redux and his site, my review, Hollowgirl and his site, my review.

Sean Olin Author Page

The Story: I got copies of Wicked Games and Reckless Hearts from Edelweiss, and I'm really glad, because they were really great and I can't wait to read more!

Series: Wicked Games

Wicked Games: Wicked Games, my review, Reckless Hearts, my review.

Sarah Prineas Author Page

The Story: I got a copy of Ash & Bramble from Edelweiss, and yeah, I'm so glad because it was so awesome and enjoyable, and I can't wait to read Rose & Thorn which is said to be a companion novel set 50 years after Ash & Bramble!

Website

Stand Alone's: Ash & Bramble and her site, my review, Rose & Thorn and her site, my review.

Kiki Sullivan Author Page

The Story: I got a copy of The Dolls from Edelweiss, and yeah, it was a really fantastic book, and I can't wait to read Midnight Dolls!

Website

Series: The Dolls.

The Dolls: The Dolls and her site, my review, Midnight Dolls and her site, my review.

Julia Durango Author Page

The Story: I got a copy of The Leveller from Edelweiss, and I'm so glad that I did, because it was so great and enjoyable, and I can't wait to read more books by Julia Durango!

Website

Series: The Leveller.

The Leveller: The Leveller and her site, my review.

Jennifer Brown Author Page

The Story: Well, first part of the story is that Bitter End was at my library and I read it, and it was just wasn't as much to my taste and that fact sucks, but I know other's enjoyed it! And then I got Shade Me from Edelweiss, and it looks so great and I just really want to read it!

Website

Series: Nikki Kill.

Nikki Kill: Shade Me and her site, my review, Dare You and her site, my review, Break Us and her site, my review.

Stand Alone's: Bitter End and her site, my review, Thousand Words and her site, my review, Torn Away and her site, my review, Hate List and her site, my review, Say Anything and her site, my review, Perfect Escape and her site, my review

Elissa Sussman Author Page

The Story: I got a copy of Stray from Edelweiss, and it looked really great, and while it took me a while to read it, I read it and I just loved it! So great! Can't wait to read more of her books!

Website

Series: Four Sisters.

Four Sister: Stray and her site, my review, Burn and her site.

Beth Webb Author Page

The Story: My library had a Star Dancer and Fire Dreamer, and I read the, and they were so great, and I just really enjoyed them, and I want to read the whole series!

Website

Series: Star Dancer.

Star Dancer: Star Dancer and her site, my review, Fire Dreamer and her site, my review, Wave Hunter and her site, my review, Stone Keeper and her site, my review.

Sarah McCarry Author Page

The Story: I got a copy of About a Girl from NetGalley, so I had to read the rest of the series! It was weird and raw and gritty and enjoyable and I really liked it, and I can't wait to read more books by Sarah McCarry!

Website

Series: Metamorphoses.

Metamorphoses: All Our Pretty Songs and her site, my review, Dirty Wings and her site, my review, About a Girl and her site, my review.

Week 52 Reviews: The Midnight City, The Bone Labyrinth

From Goodreads:
From New York Times bestselling author James Rollins comes a lightning-paced short story, in which a major attack on U.S. soil can only be stopped by…The Midnight Watch

In the dead of night, a faceless enemy hacks into the Smithsonian Institution's network of servers, but it is only the first strike masking a larger attack. To rescue a biologist trapped in the National Museum of Natural History and to discover the true intent behind an assault that grows bolder and bloodier by the minute, Sigma Force must unleash its most headstrong operative—Joe Kowalski—to do what he does best: lay waste to anything between him and his goal. From a daring rescue to a cross-city chase like no other, Kowalski will discover the shocking truth hidden in the most unexpected of places: the heart of the National Zoo.

Included with this short story is a sneak peek at The Bone Labyrinth, where events that unfold here explode into one of Sigma Force's greatest adventures of all time.

From Goodreads:
A war is coming, a battle that will stretch from the prehistoric forests of the ancient past to the cutting-edge research labs of today, all to reveal a true mystery buried deep within our DNA, a mystery that will leave readers changed forever . . .

In this groundbreaking masterpiece of ingenuity and intrigue that spans 50,000 years in human history, New York Times bestselling author James Rollins takes us to mankind's next great leap.

But will it mark a new chapter in our development . . . or our extinction?

In the remote mountains of Croatia, an archaeologist makes a strange discovery:  a subterranean Catholic chapel, hidden for centuries, holds the bones of a Neanderthal woman. In the same cavern system, elaborate primitive paintings tell the story of an immense battle between tribes of Neanderthals and monstrous shadowy figures. Who is this mysterious enemy depicted in these ancient drawings and what do the paintings mean?

Before any answers could be made, the investigative team is attacked, while at the same time, a bloody assault is made upon a primate research center outside of Atlanta. How are these events connected? Who is behind these attacks?  The search for the truth will take Commander Gray Pierce of Sigma Force 50,000 years into the past. As he and Sigma trace the evolution of human intelligence to its true source, they will be plunged into a cataclysmic battle for the future of humanity that stretches across the globe . . . and beyond.

With the fate of our future at stake, Sigma embarks on its most harrowing odyssey ever—a breathtaking quest that will take them from ancient tunnels in Ecuador that span the breadth of South America to a millennia-old necropolis holding the bones of our ancestors. Along the way, revelations involving the lost continent of Atlantis will reveal true mysteries tied to mankind's first steps on the moon. In the end, Gray Pierce and his team will face to their greatest threat: an ancient evil, resurrected by modern genetic science, strong enough to bring about the end of man's dominance on this planet.

Only this time, Sigma will falter—and the world we know will change forever.

My Review:
Man, it was so great to read these! We got some Kowalski love, which was really great, as well as the standard fare of James Rollins books of history, science, and location! It's strange, I have this idea that the present is better then the past, and then books like this come around, and we've lost something between then and now!

My dad says that in the books I read, I don't use my mind, that I don't learn anything. Which is totally unfair, because I read books like this, that teach me so much about the world, and in this book in particular, with the question of the moon, which was raised. So ha!

One thing that was brought up, was the intellectual capital, that students from other countries are taught, often with US government money, and then they go back to their home countries to be competition. Which is a good and a bad thing, because competition breeds all sorts of cool things and yet it's being paid for with no immediate benefits. There should be a better system, so everybody has the opportunity to learn and benefit and grow!

Another thing was the treatment and scientific use of gorillas, monkeys, apes. That the US has no restrictions there, that pretty much anything can be done to those creatures. That these creatures are what was chosen for the experiment that the sisters were doing regarding the Great Leap Forward.

I kinda have to disagree with that last sentence of the synopsis! They didn't falter or fail, and if there were any changes to the world, well, they weren't immediate! And that 10 years later epilogue didn't have any spoilers for what was to come, besides the wedding ring, and that just brought up more questions then answers!

Really fantastic stories, really awesome to read, and just great instalments to this series! I can't want for more!

Author: James Rollins
Series: Sigma #10.5, 11
Read: December 22nd, 23rd, 2015
Source: Tuebl
Reason Why: Love his books, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2015 Books, and The Bone Labyrinth is a WoW Book!
Publisher: William Morrow Impulse, William Morrow
Published: November 11th 2015, December 15th 2015

The Midnight City:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Bone Labyrinth:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 52 Reviews: All Our Pretty Songs, Dirty Wings, About a Girl

From Goodreads:
This is a story about love, but not the kind of love you think.  You'’ll see… 

In the lush and magical Pacific Northwest live two best friends who grew up like sisters: charismatic, mercurial, and beautiful Aurora, and the devoted, watchful narrator.  Each of them is incomplete without the other. But their unbreakable bond is challenged when a mysterious and gifted musician named Jack comes between them.

His music is like nothing I have ever heard. It is like the ocean surging, the wind that blows across the open water, the far call of gulls. 

Suddenly, each girl must decide what matters most: friendship, or love. What both girls don't know is that the stakes are even higher than either of them could have imagined. They're not the only ones who have noticed Jack's gift; his music has awakened an ancient evil—and a world both above and below which may not be mythical at all.  We have paved over the ancient world but that does not mean we have erased it. 

The real and the mystical; the romantic and the heartbreaking all begin to swirl together in All Our Pretty Songs, Sarah McCarry's brilliant debut, carrying the two on journey that is both enthralling and terrifying. 


And it's up to the narrator to protect the people she loves—if she can. 

From Goodreads:
In Dirty Wings by Sarah McCarry, Maia is a teenage piano prodigy and dutiful daughter, imprisoned in the oppressive silence of her adoptive parents' house like a princess in an ivory tower. Cass is a street rat, witch, and runaway, scraping by with her wits and her knack for a five-fingered discount. When a chance encounter brings the two girls together, an unlikely friendship blossoms that will soon change the course of both their lives. Cass springs Maia from the jail of the only world she's ever known, and Maia's only too happy to make a break for it. But Cass didn't reckon on Jason, the hypnotic blue-eyed rocker who'd capture Maia's heart as soon as Cass set her free--and Cass isn't the only one who's noticed Maia's extraordinary gifts. Is Cass strong enough to battle the ancient evil she's unwittingly awakened--or has she walked into a trap that will destroy everything she cares about? In this time, like in any time, love is a dangerous game.

From Goodreads:
Eighteen-year-old Tally is absolutely sure of everything: her genius, the love of her adoptive family, the loyalty of her best friend, Shane, and her future career as a Nobel prize-winning astronomer. There's no room in her tidy world for heartbreak or uncertainty—or the charismatic, troubled mother who abandoned her soon after she was born. But when a sudden discovery upends her fiercely ordered world, Tally sets out on an unexpected quest to seek out the reclusive musician who may hold the key to her past—and instead finds Maddy, an enigmatic and beautiful girl who will unlock the door to her future. The deeper she falls in love with Maddy, the more Tally begins to realize that the universe is bigger—and more complicated—than she ever imagined. Can Tally face the truth about her family—and find her way home in time to save herself from its consequences?

My Review:
This was a really fantastic series! It was really weird and strange, but it was also really enjoyable! Things didn't quite always make sense to me, and there were some really strange happenings, but it was a really great series!

I just want to get my complains off my sleeve right off the bat. There were mentions of the gods, and then it was basically nothing until the major stuff was going on, so that was slightly confusing. We didn't get the name of the narrator of the first book, and the guardian in the last. And she goes through a lot!

OK, onto the good stuff! I really enjoyed this tale of a family through 3 generations, of the choices that they made, the things that they went to that were sometimes kinda connected to what had come before, because we got the girls, then their parent's story, and then the one girl's daughter. Yeah.

The endings were a bit of a mixed bag. They lost, but they were alive. Or the threat was in the future, not current. I enjoyed the ending of the last book the most, because it has the most resolve, covering the entire series and giving us some answers!

I enjoyed this series a lot, it was different, but it was really great!

Author: Sarah McCarry
Series: Metamorphoses #1, 2, 3
Read: December 21st, 22nd, 22nd, 2015
Source: Tuebl, NetGalley
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and they're 2015 Retelling Reading Challenge Books and Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2015 Books!
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Published: July 30th 2013, July 14th 2014, July 14th 2015

All Our Pretty Songs:

5/5 Hearts

4/5 Books

4/5 Stars

Dirty Wings:

5/5 Hearts

4/5 Books

4/5 Stars

About a Girl:

5/5 Hearts

4/5 Books

4/5 Stars

Follow Friday #215, December 25th

Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. Follow Friday is hosted by 2 hosts, Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs! For more rules and how to participate, visit one of the hosts. Now for this week's question:

Q: What was the best Christmas (or other holiday) gift you ever received?

A: A chapter's giftcard, so I could pick the books that I wanted (though there have been also books that were given to me, like Meg Cabot's, and the Twilight series, but now my family doesn't get me books because they say I have too many!) What about you guys? Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and I hope you have a happy new year! Happy reading!







Any or all. I'm not too picky, there's options!