Stacking The Shelves (21)

Hey guys, so this week I was looking for an alternative to IMM, I am not sure how I feel about what happened right now so I am switching to a different mime. I saw that VeganYANerds was using Stacking the Shelves so I thought I would try it out. I checked out Tygna's blog and discovered that there are a few Canadian bloggers on there so I will be checking this awesome blog some more. Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

In personal news I am sorry I have not been on here this week/ month very often. April is when I lost my mom last year so it's has not been a good month for me unfortunately.

This week I only got library books. Is this possible?! Apparently. I blame it on my friend having a baby shower. It was fun and she got a ton of amazing stuff but not time to buy books. I also learned when you have kids to always buy the thick wipes. A little nugget of information to keep.

Borrowed from the Library

Fateful- Claudia Gray
172 Hours on the Moon- Johan Harstad
Starters- Lissa Price
I've Got Your Number- Sophie Kinsella (Not shown)

That is all the books I got this week, what did you get in your mailbox? Leave a comment below so I can check it out :)

The Highlight Of My Weekend

This weekend I finally got to meet Kelley Armstrong. She has been one of my favourite authors for years and I have had the chance to meet her before, but for some reason things never worked out. This weekend she was at the Chapters close to my house so I decided I had to go.

She did a Q & A and also a singing. It was a lot of fun, the line was pretty long but I made sure that my boyfriend and I got there a little early. I got four books signed. If I had my way I would have brought my entire collection, but sadly the boyfriend objected to this so I now have an excuse to go to another one of her signings to get the rest of my books signed. It was hard to choose which ones to bring so I settled with two soft covers and two hardcovers.

I had so much fun and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet her, she was funny and kept everyone attentions. I thought she did an amazing job and I hope I get to go to another signing of hers too.

In My Mailbox (20)

This week in my mailbox was pretty epic. I got tons of awesome stuff. I also got a new E-Reader. I received a Blackberry Playbook for my birthday, but unfortunately I was not able to read all my books on it so I got a Kobo Vox which should allow me to read all my books on it.

I also got a pile of physical books of course.

Bought used

Red Glove- Holly Black

Grave Mercy- Robin LaFevers

The Book of Blood and Shadow- Robin Wasserman (E-Book)

Bought Used/ Gifted

Run For Your Life- James Patterson (Gifted)

The Beach House- James Patterson (Gifted)

Tithe- Holly Black (Bought used)

The Immortal Rules- Julie Kagawa (Less than 1/2 price!)

And last but not least...

Chopsticks- Jessica Anthony

Title: Chopsticks

Author: Jessica Anthony, Rodrigo Corral (Illustrator)

Source: Borrowed

Series: No

Rating: 5/5

After her mother died, Glory retreated into herself and her music. Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As we flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, we see a girl on the precipice of disaster. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to an artistic new boy, Frank, who moves in next door. The farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness. Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song "Chopsticks."

But nothing is what it seems, and Glory's reality is not reality at all. In this stunningly moving novel told in photographs, pictures, and words, it's up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along....

This is not a book you read necessarily. It is made up of different photos that explain the story. After the death of Gloria's mother she throws herself into her music. Her father has raised her as a piano prodigy and keeps her on a strict schedule to ensure she does not get distracted. The beginning of the story we find out that Gloria has disappeared, the story then takes us through what happened to Gloria before her disappearance and why in the end she was only able to play he song Chopsticks...

The story uses photos and snippets of conversations to show how Gloria's life has played out. It was beautifully done. Each photo explained the story better than words ever could. This book is quick to "read". I finished it within an hour. I consider this one of my favourite books of 2012.

The cover is beautiful and gives a great insight into what this book contains and why Gloria disappeared and what happened leading up to this event.

In My Mailbox (19)

IMM is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

This week in my mailbox I got spoiled. I got a ton of great books and had some pretty good deals. I only bought ONE book full price. Amazing. Enjoy!

Borrowed From The Library

White Cat- Holly Black
Before I Die- Jenny Downham
Artemis Fowl- Eoin Colfer (Audio book)

Bought New

Some Girls Are- Courtney Summers
Infinity- Sherrilyn Kenyon ($5.99)
The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June- Robin Benway ($4.99)

Bought Used- All $1.99

Jack Dawns- Ken Follet (Replaced my wrecked copy- It has been read. A lot)
Such A Pretty Girl- Laura Wiess
Queen of Babble-Meg Cabot
Jane- April Lindner

For Review

 

The Opposite of Hallelujah - Anna Jarzab

Before I Die- Jenny Downham

Title" Before I Die
Author: Jenny Downham
Source: Borrowed
Series: No
Rating: 3.5/5














Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of ‘normal’ life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallised in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out.

How do you decide what you want to accomplish before you die? This is the question Sixteen year old Tessa has to find the answer to. Diagnosed with leukemia she has decided against further treatment after four years. Before she dies, she has made a list of things she wants to accomplish.

This is a difficult to read.  It deals with death of a teenager.  I enjoyed Tessa’s list, things she added to her list were things that normal teenagers get to experience. Some of them were illegal, some curiosity.  In the end though, the greatest thing she found was love.

Her family must deal with the emotional roller coaster Tessa is going through.  Her father was one of the hardest characters to read about. He tried to keep Tessa as health as long as possible while also trying to give her what she wanted.  I admired him. Tessa was a difficult character to connect with, some days she was all over the place and in the next instant she refused to leave the house.  She was very selfish in the beginning but became more understanding as the book progressed. She started to be more understanding and changed her list to add members of her family.

Tessa has enlisted the help of her best friend Zoey to accomplish her list. Along the way the tables are turned and Tessa has to help Zoey go through a life changing decision of her own. 

The book is pretty predictable.  There are really no surprises, but this did not deter me at all. I knew what the ending would be, but it did not disappoint. Overall I gave it a 3.5/ 5. I enjoyed the story, but Tessa was hard for me to connect with and it made me not enjoy the book as much as I had hoped it would.

Winner announcement

I first want to say thank you to those of you who participated in the giveaway. It is much appreciated. I am a little late with the announcement, but the winner has been email and I will be sending out their prize shortly.

And the winner is...

Chris Z.

Again congratulations Chris. I hoe you enjoy the books. I will be doing more giveaways in the future. I hope everyone who entered had as much fun as I did and enjoys my blog.

Have a great day and happy reading!

Amplified- Tara Kelly

Title: Amplified

Author: Tara Kelly

Source: Borrowed

Series No

Rating: 4/5

When privileged 17-year-old Jasmine gets kicked out of her house, she takes what is left of her savings and flees to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it. . .

In this fresh new novel by critically acclaimed author Tara Kelly, Jasmine finds out what happens when her life gets Amplified.

Amplified starts with Jasmine’s dad kicking her out of the house after she defers her acceptance to Sanford in order to take a year off to follow her music passion. Alone with no place to go, she must find a place to stay and a job. She finds a wanted ad for a roommate and a guitarist; she decides to take her chances.

I picked this one up on a complete whim. I seen it at the library and decided to try it out. It did not disappoint. I love how involved all the characters in the band were with music, to them this was not a garage band they all put their heart and souls into the music.

I loved the dynamics of all the relationships.  There was such a variety and Jasmine’s back story was not at all what I expected.  I loved how all the characters were interwoven into the story, it flowed perfectly. I loved the pace, it slowed at parts but there were no parts where I felt myself skimming.  This is a pretty quick read; I finished it in an afternoon.

This book is beautiful written, there is no other way to describe it. I loved the music notes at the beginning of every chapter.

Love and Leftovers- Sarah Tregay

Title: Love and Leftover
Author: Sarah Tregay
Series: No
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 4.5/ 5

Happy Easter Monday! I hope everyone had some great food and some time with the family. I had two delicious meals with my family and one with the boyfriends family so I was pretty spoiled. 

Now onto the book.

"Love and Leftovers" is a powerfully written debut novel that chronicles one teen's journey navigating family, friends, and love.

Love, friendship and betrayal are just some of the things this book will show you. This is written in verse and is told from the perspective of Marcie who is forced to move away with her mother after her mother discovers that her husband is gay.

We follow the protagonist as she deals with the shock of learning her father is gay while also learning how to adjust to a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Linus.  She starts at a new school and has to find her place at a new school.

This book caught me off guard. I did not see the story playing out like it did. I loved how it was in verse, it made the book. I loved the story; I do not even know how to fully explain it without giving any of it away so I will just say read it as soon as possible because it is soooo good.

Marcie was not who I thought she would be, she made lots of mistakes, but she learned from them.  She frustrated me but she grew as a character. Oh Linus you are a new book crush for me.  He was sweet and kind and a musician. I have a slight book crush on him.

Please ignore this terrible review and pick this book up. It has left me in a jumble mess of emotions and a I cannot make a proper sentence.   This is a sepectacular debut novel, I cross my heart and promise you will love it just as much as I did.

In My Mailbox (18)

IMM is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

This week's IMM is coming a bit early because it is Easter weekend and I have of course jammed packed it full of things to do and places to go.

I ALMOST managed not to buy any books this week, but while grabbing some last minute cooking supplies at Wal-Mart there were some books for 40% off so I could not resist.

Borrowed from the Library

Love and Leftovers- Sarah Trefay
Amplified- Tara Kelly
The Catastrophic History Of Me and You- Jess Rothenberg
The Butterfly Clues- Kate Ellison



Bought New- Both 40% Off!!

Torn- Amanda Hocking

These Things Hidden- Heather Gudenkauf



What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Pandemonium- Lauren Oliver

Title: Pandemonium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: Yes
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 4.5/5












I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.
Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

One of my favourite books of 2012. It is only April and I have already added another book to my list.

I enjoyed Delirium, but Pandemonium blew me completely away. I am going to admit, I had a hard time getting into Delirium. The ending has me begging for Pandemonium and now I am begging for book three so I will know how it all ends.  Oliver starts off where she ended in the third book. Completely smooth like you reached the end of the chapter and you’re starting a new one. If it is possible I found this to be faster paced than Delirium was. I found we learned a lot about the world inside the confinement in book one and book two was almost exclusively in the wilds.

Lena has made it to the wilds; she has escaped the confinement and treatment. She must now learn how to survive.  She is rescued by Raven who takes her in and integrates her into the world of the wilds. I found Lena to be weak in Delirium but she grows so much as a character and becomes a strong character.

I liked how the story reveals life on both sides of the fence and explains how people got there.  The story was full of twist and turns.  The story was never choppy; it was always smooth and fast paced. When I was reading it I was completely absorbed into the story and lost track of the world around me.

I compared Julian to Alex constantly. I could not help it. I am still totally team Alex, but Julian won a little of my heart too.  He understood where Lena came from and how brain washed DFA makes you.  I want to see more Julian in book three, he was just starting to come around and enjoy his life. Please I beg for more of him.

I have to get this out of the way; there was some swearing and book throwing at the end. Why must I wait until the third book to find out what happens next. This is so unfair.  The ending left more of a cliff-hanger than the first book did. I am now dying to read the next book, but I am making wild assumptions in my mind while I impatiently wait for it. Did anyone else feel this way If you did leave a comment below so  I can listen to someone else rant and rave about this too.

The Disenchantments- Nina LaCour

Title: The Disenchantments
Author: Nina LaCour
Series: No
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 4.5/5

Colby's post-high school plans have long been that he and his best friend Bev would tour with her band, then spend a year in Europe. When Bev announces that she will start college just after the tour, Colby struggles to understand why she changed her mind and what losing her means for his future.

The world’s worse girl band and a road trip= awesome. The Disenchantments is about the world’s worse all girl band.  Colby and Bev have had a long term pack that they will travel in Europe for a year instead of attending college after they spend the summer touring with Bev’s band. But at their first pit stop Bev announces she has made other plans for the fall and tells Colby that she will not be going to Europe with him. The tour must continue as Colby now has to decide if he should go to Europe without Bev or take a different route.

Music is such a big part of this book, I loved it. Lacour has integrated it into every aspect of the story.  There were some bands I have heard of and some I have never heard of, but I am curious to discover. The characters flow together; there was never any awkward moments where the characters did not flow with the story.

Colby and Bev were the two characters that grew the most. I was not a fan of Bev in the beginning; I could not understand why she acted so nonchalant and seemed almost cold towards Colby who is her best friend and the other members of her band.  Once the story progressed I understood her more and I appreciated her character and enjoyed watching her grow. I felt pretty bad for Colby throughout most of the book, mostly due to Bev’s betrayal, but like Bev he grew into a stronger person and I agreed with every decision he made. I loved how it ended, I thought it would be completely different but I was wrong and I am glad I was. Meg and Alexa were great secondary characters. The book is completely from Colby’s point of view, but I love how the sisters were integrated into the story. They were realistic; they got mad at each other but were always there for one another. My favourite was Melinda. She might not be a person, but she had personality and was there with the band and Colby throughout their road trip. She played a big role and the story would not have been the same without her.

I enjoyed absolutely everything about this book, I was not disappointed in anyway. The story, characters and description was all fantastic. The ending was fabulous; it tied up loose ends but left me wanting to know what will happen with the lives of the characters now.

Top Ten Tuesday

TTT is hosted by Jamie over at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's TTT is ten books to read in a day. I have chosen books that sucked me in so much that I managed to read them in a day. They were that good. I recommend you check them all out, some are newer and some are older.

1) The Catcher in the Rue- J.D. Slinger

2) Twilight- Stephanie Meyer

3) Pretty Little Liar- Sara Shepard

4) One for the Money- Janet Evanovich 

5) The Disenchantments- Nina LaCour

6) Wither- Lauren DeStefano

7) Unearthly- Cynthia Hand

8) The Rehearsal- Sarah Wills

9) Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas- James Patterson

10) 13 to Life- Shannon Delany

TBR for April

This is a sneak peek of my TBR list for April. Last year in April brought a lot of good and bad things. I bought my first house and I also lost my mom so it’s going to be an emotional month for me so giving myself some great books to look forward to will help me stay positive. My mom was the one who always encouraged me to read so every time I finish a book I have her to thank for getting me hooked.

I have chosen sixteen, I realistically will not likely get to all of them but I am going to try my best.

1) Fever- Lauren DeStefano

2) Virtuosity- Jessica Martinez

3) Charmed Thirds- Megan McCafferty

4) Devoured- Amanda Marrone

5) What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day- Pearl Cleage

6) Forever- Maggie Stiefvator

7) Wicked- Sara Shepard

8) Partials- Dan Wells

9) We Were The Mulvaneys- Joyce Carol Oates

10) A Stolen Life- Jaycee Dugard

11) Heist Society-Ally Carter

12) Once Dead, Twice Shy- Kim Harrison

13) Life Expectancy- Dean Koontz

14) An Abundance of Katherines – John Green

15) The Lucky One- Nicholas Sparks

16) Saving June- Hannah Herrington

In My Mailbox (17)

IMM is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

This week's IMM is a big one. I started out with only four books which I thought was not too bad, then things went downhill. I first visited me sister so she piled some more books on me then I went to the bookstore where my will power gave out.

Borrowed

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day- Pearl Cleage

Wicked- Sara Shepard

A Stolen Life- Jaycee Dugard

The Disenchantments- Nina LaCour

Fever- Lauren DeStefano

Partials- Dan Wells

Devoured- Amanda Marrone

Life Expectancy- Dean Koontz

Pandemonium- Lauren Oliver (Loved it!)

Bought New

Game of Thrones- George R.R. Martin

Angel Burn- L.A. Weatherly

The Midwife of Venice- Roberta Rich

For Review

Get Fluffy - Sparkle Abbey (Thank you NetGalley)

What did you get in your mailbox? Leave a comment below. Also, check out my giveaway. You could win two books.