Showing posts with label Courtney Alameda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Courtney Alameda. Show all posts

Monday, February 24, 2025

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #716, February 24th

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 #715
Teaser Tuesday #723
WWW Wednesday #723
WOW #719
Will the Time Come #716
Third Sentence Thursday #706
Random Reads #692
First Lines Friday #719
Book Blogger Hop #385
23 Books to Read in 2023 Update 17
The Reward Challenge Update #701
Wheel of TBR #248
How Well I Stuck to It #553
Wrote that Review Update #550

Week 8 Reviews:

Phase Out Your Seriesathon: 

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 

Polarthon Readathon: 

Random:

OK, so I got 43 posts in 7 days, and it was a pretty decent week, I'm happy with what I read, and I'm looking forward to this week, since I have a week and a day of vacation, so I'm going to be reading and catching up with writing my reviews. What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read The Dark Mirror

Paige Mahoney is outside the Republic of Scion for the first time in more than a decade – but she has no idea how she got to the free world. Half a year has been wiped from her memory.

As she makes her way back to the revolution, her journey takes her to Venice, where she learns a dangerous secret – one that could change the face of the war between humans and immortals. Before she can return to London, she must help the Domino Programme unravel the sinister Operation Ventriloquist.

And it soon becomes clear that the one person who could recover her memories – Arcturus Mesarthim – might also hold the key to saving Italy.

Lyrical and action-packed, The Dark Mirror drives the Bone Season series forward, showing Samantha Shannon at the height of her powers.

Saturday, February 22, 2025

Week 8 Reviews: Trigger, Shutter


From Goodreads:
Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat - a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. Now she's facing one of her most challenging ghost hunts ever. Lock, stock, and lens, she's in for one hell of a ride.

From Goodreads:
Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat-a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She's aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera's technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever.

When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain. As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn't exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she's faced before . . . or die trying.

Lock, stock, and lens, she's in for one hell of a week.

My Review:


Author: Courtney Alameda 
Series: Shutter #0.5, 1 
Read: February 21st, 21st, 2025
Source: Online, Own
Reason Why: Love her writing, and they sounded really good, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Books, and Shutter is a DAC Book and a End of Series 2025 Book!
Publisher: Tor Books, Square Fish
Published: June 3rd 2015, February 3rd 2015

Trigger:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars








Shutter:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

Friday, February 21, 2025

Magical Readathon: Orilium Update 13

So I read my next book for Magical Readathon: Orilium, and it was Shutter which was for the prompt 2D North East, and I'll be reading Rule of the Aurora King next! 

My Reading Journey:

Memories of Ash by Intisar Khanani 
Prompt Fulfilled: 1C
Started On: January 22nd
Finished On: January 22nd, 4:28 PM
Pages Read: 355

Hearts that Cut by Kika Hatzopoulou
Prompt Fulfilled: 1B
Started On: January 25th
Finished On: January 25th, 11:31 AM
Pages Read: 336

The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter
Prompt Fulfilled: 1D
Started On: January 25th
Finished On: January 25th, 3:45 PM
Pages Read: 544

The Party by Natasha Preston
Prompt Fulfilled: 1C
Started On: January 27th
Finished On: January 27th, 10:53 AM
Pages Read: 352

Return of the Vengeful Queen by C.J. Redwine 
Prompt Fulfilled: 1E
Started On: January 30th
Finished On: January 30th, 11:04 AM
Pages Read: 400

I Am the Dark that Answers When You Call by Jamison Shea
Prompt Fulfilled: 1B
Started On: January 31st
Finished On: January 31st, 2:00 PM
Pages Read: 336

Vilest Things by Chloe Gong
Prompt Fulfilled: 1A
Started On: January 31st
Finished On: January 31st, 6:36 PM
Pages Read: 416

The Half King by Melissa Landers
Prompt Fulfilled: 2A North
Started On: February 8th
Finished On: February 8th, 7:28 PM
Pages Read: 512

Tell Me No Lies by A.V. Geiger
Prompt Fulfilled: 2C South
Started On: February 9th
Finished On: February 9th, 6:48 PM
Pages Read: 330

Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard
Prompt Fulfilled: 2B West
Started On: February 15th
Finished On: February 15th, 9:18 PM
Pages Read: 545

Gabriel's Redemption by Sylvain Reynard 
Prompt Fulfilled: 2B West
Started On: February 16th
Finished On: February 16th, 3:26 PM
Pages Read: 496

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
Prompt Fulfilled: 2E South East
Started On: February 20th
Finished On: February 20th, 6:47 PM
Pages Read: 496

Shutter by Courtney Alameda
Prompt Fulfilled: 2D North East
Started On: February 21st
Finished On: February 21st, 9:15 PM
Pages Read: 384

Rule of the Aurora King by Nisha J. Tuli
Prompt Fulfilled: 2C South
Started On: February 23rd
Currently On: Page of 514

Prompts Left: None Left!
Read: 13
Pages Read: 5502

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Magical Readathon: Orilium Update 12

So I read my next book for Magical Readathon: Orilium, and it was He Who Drowned the World which was for the prompt 2E South East, and I'll be reading Shutter next! 

My Reading Journey:

Memories of Ash by Intisar Khanani 
Prompt Fulfilled: 1C
Started On: January 22nd
Finished On: January 22nd, 4:28 PM
Pages Read: 355

Hearts that Cut by Kika Hatzopoulou
Prompt Fulfilled: 1B
Started On: January 25th
Finished On: January 25th, 11:31 AM
Pages Read: 336

The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter
Prompt Fulfilled: 1D
Started On: January 25th
Finished On: January 25th, 3:45 PM
Pages Read: 544

The Party by Natasha Preston
Prompt Fulfilled: 1C
Started On: January 27th
Finished On: January 27th, 10:53 AM
Pages Read: 352

Return of the Vengeful Queen by C.J. Redwine 
Prompt Fulfilled: 1E
Started On: January 30th
Finished On: January 30th, 11:04 AM
Pages Read: 400

I Am the Dark that Answers When You Call by Jamison Shea
Prompt Fulfilled: 1B
Started On: January 31st
Finished On: January 31st, 2:00 PM
Pages Read: 336

Vilest Things by Chloe Gong
Prompt Fulfilled: 1A
Started On: January 31st
Finished On: January 31st, 6:36 PM
Pages Read: 416

The Half King by Melissa Landers
Prompt Fulfilled: 2A North
Started On: February 8th
Finished On: February 8th, 7:28 PM
Pages Read: 512

Tell Me No Lies by A.V. Geiger
Prompt Fulfilled: 2C South
Started On: February 9th
Finished On: February 9th, 6:48 PM
Pages Read: 330

Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard
Prompt Fulfilled: 2B West
Started On: February 15th
Finished On: February 15th, 9:18 PM
Pages Read: 545

Gabriel's Redemption by Sylvain Reynard 
Prompt Fulfilled: 2B West
Started On: February 16th
Finished On: February 16th, 3:26 PM
Pages Read: 496

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
Prompt Fulfilled: 2E South East
Started On: February 20th
Finished On: February 20th, 6:47 PM
Pages Read: 496

Shutter by Courtney Alameda
Prompt Fulfilled: 2D North East
Started On: February 21st
Currently On: Page of 384

Prompts Left: 2C South
Read: 12
Pages Read: 5118

Monday, October 28, 2024

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #699, October 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 #698
Teaser Tuesday #706
WWW Wednesday #706
WOW #702
Will the Time Come #699
Third Sentence Thursday #689
Random Reads #675
First Lines Friday #702
Book Blogger Hop #368
24 Books to Read in 2024 Update 7
The Reward Challenge Update #684
Wheel of TBR #231
How Well I Stuck to It #536
Wrote that Review Update #533

Week 43 Reviews:
The Hunt

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 

Becca's Spookoplathon: 

Random:

OK, so I got 46 posts in 7 days, which is a pretty good week, I read some really great books, so I'm happy with this week and I can't wait for next week! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read whatever I want that's left from my TBR's! 

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Week 43 Review: Pitch Dark

From Goodreads:
Set against a future of marauding space scavengers and deadly aliens who kill with sound, here is a frightening, fast-paced YA adventure from the author of the acclaimed horror novel, Shutter.

Tuck has been in stasis on the USS John Muir, a ship that houses Earth's most valued artifacts—its natural resources. Parks and mountains are preserved in space. 

Laura belongs to a shipraiding family, who are funded by a group used to getting what they want. And they want what's on the Muir. 

Tuck and Laura didn't bargain on working together, or battling mutant aliens who use sound to kill. But their plan is the only hope for their crews, their families, and themselves. 

In space, nobody can hear you scream . . . but on the John Muir, the screams are the last thing you'll hear. 

My first review of Pitch Dark
My Review:
I had such a great time reading this book again! It was so creepy and so very fantastic! This is a book that after I read it, I want to reread it again pretty much right away, but I managed to hold off for a few years before reading it again. It's such a great story and I'm just obsessed with it!

This book really brings the emotions out, particularly the aggrieved ones, because of the unfairness of the whole situation, that they put a controlling chip in her, and she can't tell anybody about it. It was so frustrating and I just want to throttle them, but I couldn't. I just had to cheer for her as she tried her best to get out from under their thumb.

Between the Smithsonian's, and the terrorist group that had trapped the USS John Muir in the first place, there was a lot that they were facing. Not to mention the mutated humans on the ship, those were dangerous and creepy and a bit sad that they turned out that way because of the whole situation that they're in. It all came together with the characters to become a story that I can't get enough of and I just love and will absolutely reread again!

For some reason, I thought that there was going to be a big reveal about Tuck and who his mom is, to the bad guys, which would've been really satisfying, giving that that what they thought of him. But alas, that did not happen. But I can still imagine it in my head and that is so satisfying. That ending was just epic and so satisfying to read!

I loved reading this book again, and I'm so glad I did, because it's such a wonderful book!

Author: Courtney Alameda
First Read: March 5th, 2018
Read: October 20th, 2024
Source: Own
Reason Why: Rereading, and it's a SAC 2024 Book!
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published: February 20th 2018
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

Monday, January 27, 2020

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #451, January 27th

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 #450
Teaser Tuesday #458
WWW Wednesday #458
WOW #454
Will the Time Come #451
Third Sentence Thursday #441
Random Reads #427
First Lines Friday #454
Book Blogger Hop #120
The Reward Challenge Update #436
How Well I Stuck to It #288
Wrote that Review Update #285

Week 4 Reviews:
One Dark Throne
Two Dark Reigns
Five Dark Fates
The Hand on the Wall
The Stars We Steal
Dead in the Doorway
The Last Witness
Seven Deadly Shadows
The Will and the Wild
Vendetta Road
You Owe Me a Murder

Tours:
Stellar Fusion: Review

24 Hour Reading Challenge:
3rd January Sign Up
Update 1
Update 2
Update 3
Update 4
Update 5
Update 6
Update 7
Update 8 and Wrap Up

Random:
My Boxing Day Book Outlet Orders
We Have the Cover of The Archives of the Invisible Sword #2!!!!
We Have the Cover of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #27!!!!

OK, so I got 34 posts in 7 days, it was a pretty great week, lots of great books read, so I'm happy! Can't wait for next week! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read Blood Countess, Brightly Burning, Dread Nation, Deathless Divide, The June Boys, The Last Great Wizard, The New Improved SorceressThe Look-Alike, Together We Caught Fire, and Yes No Maybe So.

A historical YA horror novel based on the infamous real-life inspiration for Countess Dracula

In 16th century Hungary, Anna Darvulia has just begun working as a scullery maid for the young and glamorous Countess Elizabeth Báthory. When Elizabeth takes a liking to Anna, she's vaulted to the dream role of chambermaid, a far cry from the filthy servants' quarters below. She receives wages generous enough to provide for her family, and the Countess begins to groom Anna as her friend and confidante. It's not long before Anna falls completely under the Countess's spell—and the Countess takes full advantage. Isolated from her former friends, family, and fiancé, Anna realizes she's not a friend but a prisoner of the increasingly cruel Elizabeth. Then come the murders, and Anna knows it's only a matter of time before the Blood Countess turns on her, too.
Seventeen-year-old Stella Ainsley wants just one thing: to go somewhere—anywhere—else. Her home is a floundering spaceship that offers few prospects, having been orbiting an ice-encased Earth for two hundred years. When a private ship hires her as a governess, Stella jumps at the chance. The captain of the Rochester, nineteen-year-old Hugo Fairfax, is notorious throughout the fleet for being a moody recluse and a drunk. But with Stella he's kind.

But the Rochester harbors secrets: Stella is certain someone is trying to kill Hugo, and the more she discovers, the more questions she has about his role in a conspiracy threatening the fleet.
The sequel to Dread Nation is a journey of revenge and salvation across a divided America.

After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.

But nothing is easy when you're a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodermus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880's America.

What's more, this safe haven is not what it appears - as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.

But she won't be in it alone.

Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by - and that Jane needs her, too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.

Watching Jane's back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it's up to Katherine to keep hope alive - even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.
From award-winning and highly acclaimed author Court Stevens comes a heart-wrenching story of small towns, rumors, and thirteen missing boys.

The Gemini Thief could be anyone. Your father, your mother, your best friend's crazy uncle. Some country music star's deranged sister. Anyone. Someone is stealing Tennessee's boys. Report suspicious behavior. The Gemini Thief is a serial kidnapper, who takes three boys and holds them captive from June 1st to June 30th of the following year. The June Boys endure thirteen months of being stolen, hidden, observed, and fed before they are released, unharmed, by their masked captor. The Thief is a pro, having eluded authorities for nearly a decade and taken at least twelve boys.

Now Thea Delacroix has reason to believe the Gemini Thief took a thirteenth victim: her cousin, Aulus McClaghen.

But the game changes when one of the kidnapped boys turns up dead. Together with her boyfriend Nick and her best friends, Thea is determined to find the Gemini Thief and the remaining boys before it's too late. Only she's beginning to wonder something sinister, something repulsive, something unbelievable, and yet, not impossible:

What if her father is the Gemini Thief?
A young woman must work with a magician who is not what he seems to find her father in this new contemporary portal fantasy series.

With her father vanished under suspicious circumstances and her old life destroyed, Tessa Andrews is determined to pick up the pieces and forge ahead. If only their borrowed house didn't shake and rumble as if haunted. But at least she and her mom have a roof over their heads, so her luck couldn't be all bad, could it?

As if to prove her wrong, Tessa gets an urgent call for help one night from crusty old Professor Brandard, one of the people on her charity meals route. She dashes over, only to find the house in flames and the professor gone. A handsome young man steps out of the ashes to request her assistance, claiming to be the professor and a Phoenix wizard. She not only has to believe in him, but in magic, for an ancient evil is awakening and it will take the two of them, plus a few shady friends, to stand against it.

Because the rejuvenation ritual has gone horribly wrong. The late, great wizard desperately needs to get his mojo back, for only if Brandard regains all his magic do they stand any chance of defeating this deadliest of perils.
The second book in this contemporary fantasy series returns to the life of Tessa Andrews as she balances the magical and mundane worlds.

Tessa didn't believe in magic, but magic believed in her, and that started a fight for her life.

An ancient artifact known as a maelstrom stone has embedded itself in her left palm. It thrives on chaos, which describes her new life perfectly. She battles to find a balance between the ordinary world and the magical one, all while freeing her father from his ghostly state, helping a phoenix wizard restore his rejuvenation ritual, and retrieving the stolen Eye of Nimora for the Broadstone clan. Tessa must also help her mother navigate the rocky road of academia and single motherhood finances, fall in love herself, and steer her college teammates to a divisional championship. She needs friends, both ordinary and magical, by her side.

Then a strange and forbidding book of the Dark Arts strikes her with actual power...and Tessa realizes more than ever that there is no I in team--unless it's the one in new, improved sorceress.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Other Girl and Justice for Sara comes a thrilling psychological drama about a woman who believes she escaped a brutal murder years ago—but does anyone else believe her?

Sienna Scott grew up in the dark shadow of her mother's paranoid delusions. Now, she's returned home to confront her past and the unsolved murder that altered the course of her life.

In her mother's shuttered house, an old fear that has haunted Sienna for years rears its ugly head —that it was she who had been the killer's target that night. And now, with it, a new fear—that the killer not only intended to remedy his past mistake—he's already begun. But are these fears any different from the ones that torment her mother?

As the walls close in, the line between truth and lie, reality and delusion disintegrate. Has Sienna's worst nightmare come true? Or will she unmask a killer and finally prove she may be her mother's look-alike, but she's not her clone?
A forbidden attraction grows even more complicated when the guy Lane Jamison has crushed on for years suddenly becomes her step-brother in this sexy and gorgeously written debut novel about the lines between love, desire, and obsession.

What happens when the boy you want most becomes the one person you can't have?

Lane Jamison's life is turned upside down the week before her senior year when her father introduces her to his new fiancée: mother of Grey McIntyre, Lane's secret, longtime crush. Now with Grey living in Lane's house, there's only a thin wall separating their rooms, making it harder and harder to deny their growing mutual attraction—an attraction made all the more forbidden by Grey's long-term girlfriend Sadie Hall, who also happens to be Lane's friend

Torn between her feelings for Grey and her friendship with Sadie—not to mention her desire to keep the peace at home—Lane befriends Sadie's older brother, Connor, the black sheep of the strict, evangelical Hall family. Connor, a metal working artist who is all sharp edges, challenges Lane in ways no one else ever has. As the two become closer and start to open up about the traumas in their respective pasts, Lane begins to question her conviction that Connor is just a distraction.

Tensions come to a head after a tragic incident at a party, forcing Lane to untangle her feelings for both boys and face the truth of what—and who—she wants, in this gripping and stunningly romantic debut novel.
New York Times bestselling authors Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed have crafted a resonant, funny, and memorable story about the power of love and resistance.

YES
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he's behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let's face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie's a choke artist. There's no way he'd ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.

NO
Maya Rehman's having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.

MAYBE SO
Going door to door isn't exactly glamorous, but maybe it's not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Week 4 Review: Seven Deadly Shadows

From Goodreads:
Kira Fujikawa has always been a girl on the fringe. Bullied by her peers and ignored by her parents, the only place Kira's ever felt at home is at her grandfather's Shinto shrine, where she trains to be a priestess.

But Kira's life is shattered on the night her family's shrine is attacked by a vicious band of yokai demons. With the help of Shiro—the shrine's gorgeous half-fox, half-boy kitsune—Kira discovers that her shrine harbors an ancient artifact of great power . . . one the yokai and their demon lord, Shuten-doji, will use to bring down an everlasting darkness upon the world.

Unable to face the Shuten-doji and his minions on her own, Kira enlists the aid of seven ruthless shinigami—or death gods—to help stop the brutal destruction of humankind. But some of the death gods aren't everything they initially seemed, nor as loyal to Kira's cause as they first appeared.

With war drawing nearer by the day, Kira realizes that if this unlikely band of heroes is going to survive, they're going to have to learn to work together, confront their demons, and rise as one to face an army of unimaginable evil. 

My Review:
I enjoyed reading this book so much! I enjoyed getting to see this world, getting to know these characters, go on this adventure! It was a fun read, and I'm really glad that it exists! I thoroughly enjoyed the other Courtney Alameda book that I have read, and while I haven't read any by Valynne E. Maetani before, if I get the chance, I'll read by both again! 

I'm not all that knowledgeable about the lore of Japan, so there were a lot of terms that went over my head, that were part of this world, because this is part of that world. So that was a bit of a stumbling block, but not a insurmountable one!

I really enjoyed getting to know these characters, Kira and Shiro, were our main characters and entertaining to read about! But there were also the Shinigami that she recruited, like Shimida and
Yaza, though I would've liked a bit more development for both. Details for Shimida, though those might be out there, not in this book. Yaza, because it was a pretty quick turn around.

So I raged for Kira, for her family's response to the attack and her subsequent actions. I mean, they didn't initially know the extent of the attack, well, they were pretty uncaring and cruel in measures. And they caused more stress for Kira, plus everything that was going on, that wasn't good. But it did work out, and the ending worked out, so that was great!

This was a fantastic read, and I enjoyed the experience!

Authors: Courtney Alameda and Valynne E. Maetani
Read: January 23rd, 2020
Source: Edelweiss
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and yeah, it's a SAC 2020 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Expected Publication: January 28th 2020
5/5 Hearts
4.5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

Thursday, January 23, 2020

24 Hour Reading Challenge Update 5

I read my next book, Seven Deadly Shadows and I'm going to be reading The Will and the Wilds next! I did start a bit later than I wanted to, and then I started reading another book because this one was going a bit slowly, and I got over 100 pages in, so I should finish that one shortly! Can't wait!

My Reading Journey:

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
Started On: January 22nd, 11:00 AM
Finished On: January 22nd, 2:07 PM
Pages Read: 384

The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne
Started On: January 22nd, 2:30 PM
Finished On: January 22nd, 5:06 PM
Pages Read: 400

Dead in the Doorway by Diane Kelly
Started On: January 22nd, 5:20 PM
Finished On: January 22nd, 8:00 PM
Pages Read: 320

The Last Witness by Claire McFall
Started On: January 22nd, 8:20 PM
Finished On: January 22nd, 9:52 PM
Pages Read: 272

Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda and Valynne E. Maetani
Started On: January 23rd, 12:30-1:30, 3:20 PM
Finished On: January 23rd, 5:47 PM
Pages Read: 288

The Will and the Wilds by Charlie N. Holmberg
Started On: January 23rd
Currently On: Page 0 of 267

Goals: 6-8
Read: 5
Time Used: 13 hours 0 minutes
Pages Read: 1664

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

24 Hour Reading Challenge Update 4

I read my next book, The Last Witness and I'm going to be reading Seven Deadly Shadows next! Going to start tomorrow, though, not really enough time today to finish another book!

My Reading Journey:

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
Started On: January 22nd, 11:00 AM
Finished On: January 22nd, 2:07 PM
Pages Read: 384

The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne
Started On: January 22nd, 2:30 PM
Finished On: January 22nd, 5:06 PM
Pages Read: 400

Dead in the Doorway by Diane Kelly
Started On: January 22nd, 5:20 PM
Finished On: January 22nd, 8:00 PM
Pages Read: 320

The Last Witness by Claire McFall
Started On: January 22nd, 8:20 PM
Finished On: January 22nd, 9:52 PM
Pages Read: 272

Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda and Valynne E. Maetani
Started On: January 23rd
Currently On: Page 0 of 288

Goals: 6-8
Read: 4
Time Used: 9 hours 40 minutes
Pages Read: 1376

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Waiting on Wednesday #445, November 20th

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

Cast in Wisdom by Michelle Sagara
Expected Publication: January 28th, 2020
From Goodreads:
SOMETHING IS WAKING

The fiefs that exist at the heart of the city of Elantra are home to sentient Towers that guard the world against the incursion of Shadow. But between the fiefs exists the gray world of the border zone. In it, geography changes between one passage across a border and the next. The rules of magic are different there—and yet somehow familiar to Kaylin Neya.

When a Shadow escapes, Kaylin must find out how…and why. If Shadows can breach the barrier erected by the Towers, the whole of Elantra will be devoured. It’s happened on other worlds. Bellusdeo, Kaylin’s Dragon companion, absolutely believes it can happen on theirs.

The border zone holds secrets and ancient histories, and people are gathering there in search of its power. Without even understanding what that power is, or why it exists, Kaylin is in a desperate race against time to find those secrets first. She doesn’t know who her enemies are. She doesn’t know how many she’ll face. But she won’t face them alone.

Vendetta Road by Christine Feehan
Expected Publication: January 28th, 2020
From Goodreads:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan pushes the limits in her next novel in the Torpedo Ink series.

Isaak “Ice” Koval is on a club mission when he sees a woman who stops him dead in his tracks. Soleil is a sweet, sexy, girl-next-door type. She’s an innocent who should be nowhere near the rough-and-ready world of the Torpedo Ink motorcycle club. But Ice knows Soleil belongs with him—and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her.

After a life of drifting from one thing to the next, Soleil Brodeur is determined to take control of her life. When her breakup with her manipulative fiancé turns ugly, Soleil searches out the stranger who offered her a lifeline and ends up in a Las Vegas biker bar where she meets a gorgeous, dangerous man straight out of her most secret fantasies.

High on adrenaline, she finds herself falling faster than she thought possible. But Soleil knows little about the territory she’s stumbled into, and even less about what it really means to be Ice’s woman.…

Hunting for a Highlander by Lynsay Sands
Expected Publication: January 28th, 2020
From Goodreads:
Four Buchanan brothers have found their brides…only three more to go in this scintillating romance from New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands…

Lady Dwyn Innes feels utterly out of place among the eligible women who've descended on Buchanan Keep, vying for the attention of the last unmarried brothers. She isn't long-legged and slender like her sisters, or flirtatious and wily like other lasses. Since her betrothed died, Dwyn has resigned herself to becoming an old maid. Yet a chance encounter with a stranger in the orchard awakens her to a new world of sensation and possibility...

After weeks away, Geordie Buchanan returns to find his home swarming with potential brides, thanks to his loving but interfering family. But one lass in particular draws his attention from the moment he spies her climbing a tree. Lady Dwyn is not nearly as plain as she thinks. Her lush figure and eager kisses delight him, as does her honesty. But the real test lies ahead: eliminating a hidden enemy, so that he and Dwyn can seal their Highland passion with a vow. 


Wicked Bite by Jeaniene Frost
Expected Publication: January 28th, 2020
From Goodreads:
In the newest Night Rebel novel, set in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress world, beautiful, daring vampire Veritas risks all to protect Ian...

Some promises are meant to be broken...

Veritas spent most of her life as a vampire Law Guardian. Now, she's about to break every rule by secretly hunting down the dark souls that were freed in order to save Ian. But the risks are high. For if she gets caught, she could lose her job. And catching the sinister creatures might cost Veritas her own life.

Some vows are forever...

Ian's memories might be fragmented, but this master vampire isn't about to be left behind by the woman who entranced him, bound herself to him, and then disappeared. So what if demons, other Law Guardians, and dangerous, otherworldly forces stand against them? Come hell or high water, Ian intends to remind Veritas of the burning passion between them, because she is the only person seared on his mind--and his soul...


Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda and Valynne E. Maetani
Expected Publication: January 28th, 2020
From Goodreads:
Kira Fujikawa has always been a girl on the fringe. Bullied by her peers and ignored by her parents, the only place Kira’s ever felt at home is at her grandfather’s Shinto shrine, where she trains to be a priestess.

But Kira’s life is shattered on the night her family’s shrine is attacked by a vicious band of yokai demons. With the help of Shiro—the shrine’s gorgeous half-fox, half-boy kitsune—Kira discovers that her shrine harbors an ancient artifact of great power . . . one the yokai and their demon lord, Shuten-doji, will use to bring down an everlasting darkness upon the world.

Unable to face the Shuten-doji and his minions on her own, Kira enlists the aid of seven ruthless shinigami—or death gods—to help stop the brutal destruction of humankind. But some of the death gods aren’t everything they initially seemed, nor as loyal to Kira’s cause as they first appeared.

With war drawing nearer by the day, Kira realizes that if this unlikely band of heroes is going to survive, they’re going to have to learn to work together, confront their demons, and rise as one to face an army of unimaginable evil.


Blood Countess by Lana Popović
From Goodreads:
A historical YA horror novel based on the infamous real-life inspiration for Countess Dracula


In 17th century Hungary, Anna Darvulia has just begun working as a scullery maid for the young and glamorous Countess Elizabeth Báthory. When Elizabeth takes a liking to Anna, she’s vaulted to the dream role of chambermaid, a far cry from the filthy servants’ quarters below. She receives wages generous enough to provide for her family, and the Countess begins to groom Anna as her friend and confidante. It’s not long before Anna falls completely under the Countess’s spell—and the Countess takes full advantage. Isolated from her former friends, family, and fiancé, Anna realizes she’s not a friend but a prisoner of the increasingly cruel Elizabeth. Then come the murders, and Anna knows it’s only a matter of time before the Blood Countess turns on her, too.


The Look-Alike by Erica Spindler
Expected Publication: January 28th, 2020
From Goodreads:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Other Girl and Justice for Sara comes a thrilling psychological drama about a woman who believes she escaped a brutal murder years ago—but does anyone else believe her?

Sienna Scott grew up in the dark shadow of her mother’s paranoid delusions. Now, she's returned home to confront her past and the unsolved murder that altered the course of her life.

In her mother’s shuttered house, an old fear that has haunted Sienna for years rears its ugly head —that it was she who had been the killer’s target that night. And now, with it, a new fear—that the killer not only intended to remedy his past mistake—he’s already begun. But are these fears any different from the ones that torment her mother?

As the walls close in, the line between truth and lie, reality and delusion disintegrate. Has Sienna’s worst nightmare come true? Or will she unmask a killer and finally prove she may be her mother’s look-alike, but she’s not her clone? 

I've read a few of these as ARC's, and I'm really excited for all of them to come out, there's some really great authors and series coming out on the 28! Can't wait! What about you guys? Happy reading!

Sunday, June 30, 2019

Friday, October 26, 2018

Book Blogger Hop #55, October 26th

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer from Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer's permission, I relaunched the meme on February 15, 2013. Check out the hop here

Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end on Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop's purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

The Question of the week is: Recommend one horror novel for non-horror readers.
(submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

This is hard, because I'm more of a non-horror reader. I know I have some favourites, but I can't think of any of the top of my head. I just read Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda, which was so fantastic! Undead and Unfed by Kirsty McKay, which were great zombie books. Savage and Monstrous by Thomas E. Sniegoski, which was just so thrilling! Dreamfall by Amy Plum, yeah, the horror is strong in this one, I mean, nightmares! Relic by Gretchen McNeil, it was that inevitable horror, you know?  (I had to search horror of my blog to find these books!) What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Monday, March 12, 2018

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #353, March 12th

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 #352
Teaser Tuesday #360
WWW Wednesday #360
WOW #357
Will the Time Come #351
Third Sentence Thursday #342
Random Reads #328
First Lines Friday #356
The Reward Challenge Update #338
Book Blogger Hop #22
How Well I Stuck to It #190
Wrote that Review Update #187

Week 10 Reviews:
Undone
Grave Secrets
Pitch Dark
Blight
Lake Silence
Burn Bright
The Beauty of Darkness
Four of a Kind
High Voltage

Random:
We Have the Cover of The Night Rebel #1!!!!
Courtney Alameda Author Page
Lauren James Author Page
Laurie Forest Author Page

OK, so I got 25 posts in 7 days, which was really good because there were a lot of amazing books that came out on the 3rd! Really happy with this week! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read Bare Bones, Blaze Erupting, Winter Igniting, Broken, Dangerously Fierce, Obsidio, and Time Bomb.

It's a summer of sizzling heat in Charlotte where Dr. Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist for the North Carolina medical examiner, looks forward to her first vacation in years. A romantic vacation. She's almost out the door when the bones start appearing.

A newborn's charred remains turn up in a woodstove. A small plane crashes in a North Carolina cornfield on a sunny afternoon. Both pilot and passenger are burned beyond recognition. And what is the mysterious black substance covering the bodies? Most puzzling of all are the bones discovered at a remote farm outside Charlotte. The remains seem to be of animal origin, but Tempe is shocked when she gets them to her lab.

With help from a special detective friend, Tempe must investigate a poignant and terrifying case that comes at the worst possible moment. Daughter Katy has a new boyfriend who Tempe fears may have something to hide. And important personal decisions face Tempe. Is it time for emotional commitment? Will she have the chance to find out?

Everything must wait on the bones. Why are the X rays and DNA so perplexing? Who is trying to keep Tempe from the answers? Someone is following her and Katy. That someone must be stopped before it's too late.
From New York Times bestselling author, Rebecca Zanetti, comes a new Scorpius Syndrome/A Brigade Novella…

Hugh Johnson is nobody's hero, and the idea of being in the limelight makes him want to growl. He takes care of his brothers, does his job, and enjoys a mellow evening hanging with his hound dog and watching the sports channel. So when sweet and sexy Ellie Smithers from his college chemistry class asks him to save millions of people from a nuclear meltdown, he doggedly steps forward while telling himself that the world hasn't changed and he can go back to his relaxing life. One look at Ellie and excitement doesn't seem so bad.

Eleanor Smithers knows that the Scorpius bacteria has and will change life as we know it, but that's a concern for another day. She's been hand-picked as the computer guru for The Brigade, which is the USA's first line of defense against all things Scorpius, including homegrown terrorists who've just been waiting for a chance to strike. Their target is a nuclear power plant in the east, and the only person who can help her is Hugh, the sexy, laconic, dangerous man she had a crush on so long ago.
His only goal was survival until he met her...

With nothing to lose, former cop Damon Winter agrees to an undercover op, infiltrating a cult in the dangerous post-Scorpius world. After one look at his new partner, he knows she belongs far away from not only the cult, but from him. She's sweet and kind and has no business being in peril, but she's determined to help. Suddenly, the part he's playing as her man explodes into a passion neither of them had expected.

She hadn't purposefully faced risk until she met him...

April Snyder has survived loss, pain, and uncertainty. Now she's ready to live again. There's nothing left but to make a difference for others, so why not go undercover in the cult? Now all she has to do is keep it professional and ignore her handsome, deadly, overbearing partner, who's too sexy for her peace of mind. Intrigue, risk, and danger make for an irresistible temptation--until enemies close in, threatening everyone they've sworn to protect.
When Special Agent Will Trent arrives in Grant County, he finds a police department determined to protect its own. Officer Lena Adams is hiding secrets from him, and while her role in the death of the county's popular police chief is unclear, that man's widow, Dr. Sara Linton, desperately needs Trent's help to crack the case of a prisoner's death. While the police force investigates the murder of a young woman pulled from a frigid lake, Trent investigates the police force. Caught between two complicated and determined women, trying to understand the facts surrounding Chief Tolliver's death, Trent will uncover explosive secrets—and confront a thin blue line that could be murderous if crossed.
The Riders: Three legendary brothers who kept the Baba Yagas safe. The Riders' immortality was stripped away, along with their mission. But they are still much more than Human, and their story is far from over…

His brothers may have found new paths to follow, but Alexei Knight isn't even looking. If he can't have the life he was meant to lead, there is no second choice. So he is bent on drinking and brawling his way across the country until he winds up on Cape Cod in a bar called The Hook and Anchor, where he finds challenges he was never expecting, a feisty red-haired bartender, and maybe a lot more than that…

Bethany McKenna left behind an almost-completed law degree to return home and care for her cranky disabled father and run his bar for him. If that wasn't enough, she also agreed to foster a very pregnant Great Dane. She has enough to deal with without adding in a giant bearded brawler, no matter how appealing he is. Yet somehow he ends up living in the guesthouse, taking care of her father, and sneaking his way into her heart…

Alexei and Bethany both think the lives they wanted have come to an end, but after dealing with a mysterious sea monster, pirates, dragons, and some adorable puppies, they might just discover that love is the greatest adventure of all…
Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion?

Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.

With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heros will fall, and hearts will be broken.
A congressman's daughter who has to be perfect. A star quarterback with a secret. A guy who's tired of being ignored. A clarinet player who's done trying to fit in. An orphaned rebel who wants to teach someone a lesson. A guy who wants people to see him, not his religion.

They couldn't be more different, but before the morning's over, they'll all be trapped in a school that's been rocked by a bombing. When they hear that someone inside is the bomber, they'll also be looking to one another for answers.