Saturday, January 24, 2015

Stacking the Shelves (I complete forgot to post this week)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

So apparently I forgot to post this week for some reason so I am posting a stacking the shelves since I am clearly unprepared. 

Bought New (Bookoutlet/Amazon)
Sekret- Lindsay Smith
Uglies- Scott Westerfeld
Alienated- Melissa Landers 
Introductions: The Ghost Bird Series- C.L. Stone (Free)

Borrowed from the Library
The Lost Wife- Alyson Richman

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I only got one book this week so it is a pretty small haul, but I am clearing out a lot of books off my shelves which makes me happy.

Borrowed from the Library
I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories by Gina Sheridan


What did you get in your mailbox?

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Bout of Books 12.0 Wrap Up

Bout of Books

My List:

Crash and Burn by Michael Hassan
Saving June- Hannah Herrington

I completed my list and even had time to start a third book. I was really happy with my reading. I thought about putting down Crash and Burn since I felt like it was slowing me down but I am glad I decided to prevail. 

Day 1
Reading:  Crash and Burn
Pages read: 85

Day 2
Reading:  Crash and Burn
Pages read:  I forgot to write it down

Day 3
Reading:  Crash and Burn
Pages read: 167

Day 4
Reading:  Crash and Burn (completed)
Started:  Saving June By Hannah Harrington
Pages read: 280 + 27 = 307

Day 5
Reading:  Saving June By Hannah Harrington
Pages read: 115

Day 6
Reading: Saving June By Hannah Harrington (completed)
Started: Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff 
Pages read: 167

Day 7
Reading: Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff 
Pages Read: 80 ish


Monday, January 12, 2015

Stacking the Shelves (Book Outlet)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My books from Bookoutlet came in. My four books plus delivery was $15. I also bought two used books and used my 30% off coupon which brought them to $4.


Bought New

Red Glove- Holly Black (read)
Black Heart- Holly Black (read)
The Enchanted- Rene Denfeld (read)
The Paradox of Vertical Flight- Emil Ostrovski

Borrowed from the library

These Broken Stars- Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner 

Bought Used
The Witches- Roald Dahl
The First Phone Call From Heaven- Mitch Albom



What did you get this week?

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Review of The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

Title: The Great Zoo of China
Author: Matthew Reilly
Source:  NetGalley (for an honest review)
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: January 27 2015
Rating: 2/5







Goodreads Summary:

It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years. They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world. Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed. A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time. Among them is Dr. Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles. The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong.

This is the last book I read in 2014 and I was not overly impressed unfortunately. This book intrigued me and so I requested it.

 The Chinese government found dragons and kept it a secret from the rest of the world so they could create The Great Zoo of China that would rival all other zoo and amusement parks in the world. In order to promote the zoo they invite VIP journalist to take a view of the zoo. The tour starts out good then things go downhill quickly.

The characters were mediocre. CJ is a reptile expert and insist her brother comes along with her as her photographer. We also have a few government officials who have their own secrets. The book started out a mystery. The first few pages mention CJ, but we do not know how the other character knows CJ or why he has been murdered but the novel started to lose my interest after things at the zoo started going down the tubes.

The plot was very Jurassic Park which in a way is inevitable with the storyline, however I felt like this novel had nothing new to add to the plot. The idea of discovering dragon eggs and deciding to make a zoo including these dragons is a unique and interesting idea, but the characters were one sided with not a lot of depth. We get a small flashback into CJ's past which I think either should have been explored more or taken out completely. This is the same for the other characters also. We get some flashes of the characters past that could be intriguing if they were explored further or should have simply been cut out of the novel since it did not add anything to the story. The science of how the dragon eggs survived and how the dragons were able to survive was not explained at all. I hoped this would be explored further.

Overall I was disappointed with this novel. I know my view of this novel is not the popular opinion so I am curious to hear what other people think of this novel.  Please leave a comment below.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

December Wrap Up

There was a lot of big events that happened in 2014 and I read a lot of good books and I cannot wait to discover new books in 2015. 

In total I read 209 books in 2014.


The List 

The Boy Who Drew Monsters- Keith Donohue 
The Retribution of Mara Dyer- Michelle Hodkin
Mortal Heart- Robin LaFevers 
All the Light We Cannot See- Anthony Doerr
I'll Meet You There- Heather Demetrios 
The Bronze Horseman- Paullina Simons

The other goals I setting for myself this month:

1) Buy less books than I read
2) Donate at least one book
3) Re-read at least one book

Borrowed: 10

Books I own: 10
E-Books: 2
Total: 20

Remember Me- Romily Bernard 

Finding Cinderella- Colleen Hoover 
Sex Criminals: One Weird Trick Vol 1- Matt Fraction
The Boy Who Drew Monsters- Keith Donohue
The Silkworm- Robert Gallbraith
The Retribution of Mara Dyer- Michelle Hodkin
The Husband's Secret- Liane Moriarty
Simpson's Comics Wingding- Matt Groening
Endless Night- Francois Rivere 
Mortal Heart- Robin LaFevers 
Push- Sapphire 
I'll Meet You There- Heather Demetrios 
Don't Look Back- Jennifer L. Armentrout 
All The Light We Cannot See- Anthony Doerr 
The Other Story- Tatiana De Rosnay
The Body Electric- Beth Revis
The Calling (Endgame #1)- James Frey
Prom and Prejudice- Elizabeth Eulberg
The Great Zoo of China- Matthew Reilly
Saga Volume 4- Brian K Vaughn


Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Bout of Books 12.0

Bout of Books
 
This Bout of Books is a little different than all of the other Bout of Book I have participated in since they have removed the goals linky. I am still making myself a super short TBR for myself. The book I am currently reading is quite chunky (500+ pages) so I would be super happy if I complete this and start another book. I am also posting this a day late. I completely forgot this was happening, but here is my list:
 
Crash and Burn by Michael Hassan
Saving June- Hannah Herrington
 
What are you reading for Bout of Books?


Sunday, January 4, 2015

Stacking the Shelves (First 2015 haul)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

This is a small haul today (thank goodness). I ordered some books from Christmas gift cards and from BookOutlets boxing day sale so once they arrive I will haul them. 

Borrowed From The Library
Otherworld Nights- Kelley Armstrong (Already read)

For Review (NetGalley)
The Great Zoo of China- Matthew Reilly (Already read)

Gifted (gift card)
Crash- Nicole Williams (Already read)



What did you get in your mailbox?

Friday, January 2, 2015

January TBR

Happy New Years!!! I am so excited to get started with these amazing sounding books. I am also trying to start off with sticking to my goals. I hope everyone had a great New Year's.

This year I have my Goodreads goal currently set at 185 books. I hope to surpass this but it is going to be another busy year for me so who knows. As of right now I know of three weddings so another busy year.

The List
Angelfall by Susan Ee (e-book)
Crash and Burn- Michael Hassan (big book)
Wise Children- Angela Carter
Switched- Amanda Hocking (been on my Goodreads TBR since 2012)