Stacking the Shelves (130)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I made it to BookCloseOuts and I got some awesome books. I only had a short time there, but I knocked quite a few books off my to buy list which I am quite excited about :).

Borrowed from the Library
The Half Life of Molly Pierce- Katrina Leno
2 A.M. at the Cat's Pajamas- Marie- Helene Bertino


Bought New (BookCloseOuts)
City of Lost Souls- Cassandra Clare
The Poison Tree- Erin Kelly
Clash- Nicole Williams
Resistance- Anita Shreve
The Marriage Plot- Jeffrey Eugenides 
Project Cain- Geoffrey Giard

Bout of Books Day 4-7

The List
Lucid- Adrienne Stoltz

Day 4: I did not read anything and I did not keep track of how far I read in day 4.

Day 5: I finally finished Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz and started The Bees by Laline Paull and read to about page 50.

Day 6:  I did not read more than a few pages. I left my house early in the morning for a wedding and did not get home until late Sunday.

Day 7:  0 pages read. I was exhausted from a long day at a wedding the night before then spending the day with friends at the ex that I fell right asleep when I got home. 

Conclusion:  I honestly did pretty terribly. I should have put Lucid down when I was not getting into it but I was determined to finish it. I wish I would have read more but I am also relatively happy with my progress when I think about all of the things I had to do during the week. 

Stacking the Shelves (129)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I have not bought this week (so far), however this post is going up while I am not home and I did plan on hitting up BookCloseOuts before the wedding I was attending on Saturday so I will have a haul up next week if everything worked out :). I did however have a ton of books come in at the library right before I left which was awesome.

Borrowed from the Library
Torn Away- Jennifer Brown 
If I Were You- Lisa Renee Jones
Y: The Last Man, Volume 2: The Cycle- Brian K. Vaughan 
Maybe Someday- Colleen Hoover 
The One- Kiera Cass

What did you get this week?

My Favorite Book Tubers

This is a little bit of a different post but it is one I have been thinking about this for quite awhile and decided to highlight some of my favorite booktubers. I have a lot more that I love but if I had to choose only ten these would be the ones I would go with.

1) Epic Reads. If you have not watched a tea time you need to because one they talk about awesome books and two it is hilarious. 

2) ChapterStackss. She not only reviews YA, but she only reviews adult books which is awesome. 

3) Read Susie Read. She is another book tuber who reviews YA and adult novels which I appreciate plus she does awesome book talks which are spoiler free reviews which makes me wants to read every single book she recommends. 

4) Little Book Owl. She is an Australian book tuber who reads mostly YA books, but she does read a wide range of YA novels and her reviews are usually themed with the book which is so cool and really adds to the review.

5) LukeLane Reads. This is a new favorite of mine. I discovered him through a collaborative tag that he did with Katie from ChapterStackss called the NSFW book tag which was awesome. 

6) WordsofaReader. This is another Australian book tuber who I enjoy watching, She mostly reviews with the rare YA novel which is refreshing and I have found some really good books through her recommendations that I would have never picked up on my own.

7) BookRatMisty. She is one of the first booktubers I discovered and I still love every single video she does, She does a lot of different interesting things, including her stacks of 5 where you vote for one book for her to read in the month to read and review. 

8) The Readables. She is another one of the booktubers I first learned about when I started watching booktube videos. She reviews everything from comic books to YA and adult books. She is all over the place with her reading in a good way.

9) TheBookHoarder. This booktuber has been away for a little it, but I still wait for her videos because they are always excellent. She is another eccentric reader who reads basically everything and I have discovered quite a few amazing books through her. 

10) ClumsinessisaCurse. Mostly a booktuber who also does other interesting videos like mail art and US care packages where she receives a care package from an american friend and tries all the different treats only available in the US and not in Wales. She reads mostly YA but also review on occasion an adult book.

Bout of Books Day 2-3

The List
Lucid- Adrienne Stoltz

Day 2:  This was not a good reading day. I started on page 124 and I did not get a ton of reading done. We have friends getting married on Saturday so we had to go finish getting their gift together so I did not get home until late yesterday.

Day 3: I started on page 160 and so far I have only read to page 184 so far today. My goal is to read to page 200 by the end of the night. I am not loving this book sadly and I am reading it pretty slowly. 

Bout of books Day 1 Wrap up

The List
Lucid- Adrienne Stoltz


Day 1: I took City of Heavenly Fire off my list since I need to return it to the library in two days so I won't have time to read it so I took it off the list completely. I started Lucid yesterday and I did not get very far into it and I only read a little bit today sadly but I hope tomorrow will be better for reading.  

Stacking the Shelves (128)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I did not buy any books this week (yay!) and I only went to the library. I am heading to a wedding next weekend which is close to the Book Close Outs bookstore so I am hoping I can make a trip there :).

Borrowed from the Library
A Train in Winter-Caroline Moorehead (Book club pick)
The Bees- Laine Paull
Y: The Last Man- Brian K. Vaughan

Review of Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Title: Norweigan Wood
Author: Haruki Murakami
Source: Borrowed from the library
Rating: 4/5









Goodreads Summary:
Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before.  Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable.  As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.

This was my first Murakami novel. I own Wind-up Bird Chronicles but I decided to pick a shorter novel of his first to make sure I liked his writing before I invested too much time into it. I loved this book and I cannot wait to read more by this author.

The story follows Toru who is a young college student in Tokyo who is completely devoted to a young woman named Naoko.  He is trying to deal with trying to come to terms with his best friends death and deciding what he should be doing with his life. Naoko feels like she is unable to handle the stresses of college life and life without her boyfriend who was Toru's best friend and she checks into a hospital to get away. Toru funds himself torn between waiting for Naoko and reaching out to new young women.

This is a coming of age novel I wish I read earlier because I loved it so much. This is a slow read, I wanted to absorb everything that Murakami was saying so I took my time reading this and savoring it. 

Review of Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb

Title: Witchstruck
Author: Victoria Lamb
Source: Book Blogger Meet Up
Series: Yes
Rating: 1/5








Goodreads Summary:
If she sink, she be no witch and shall be drowned. If she float, she be a witch and must be hanged.
Meg Lytton has always known she is different, that she bears a dark and powerful gift. But in 1554 England, in service at Woodstock Palace to the banished Tudor princess Elizabeth, it has never been more dangerous to practise witchcraft. Meg knows she must guard her secret carefully from the many suspicious eyes watching over the princess and her companions. One wrong move could mean her life, and the life of Elizabeth, rightful heir to the English throne. With witchfinder Marcus Dent determined to have Meg's hand in marriage, and Meg's own family conspiring against the English queen, there isn't a single person Meg can trust. Certainly not the enigmatic young Spanish priest Alejandro de Castillo, despite her undeniable feelings. But when all the world turns against her, Meg must open her heart to a dangerous choice.

 I got this book at the book blogger meet up in my goody bag so I decided I should read and review it. This book was a quick read and I was able to read it in two days, and my edition was 320 pages. I think this is a book that can be consumed in one sitting but I had a hard time concentrating on this book. I found myself losing interest and when I put this book down I was not in a rush to pick it back up. 

The summary of this novel grabbed my attention and it was an interesting concept of having a witch as a worker in princess Elizabeth's household at the palace she is banished to by her sister, but the characters felt one sided and super shallow, especially Meg.  She was such a frustrating character and she acted a lot younger than sixteen. She is suppose to be a witch in training, but she acts very childish and acts rashly without thinking anything through. I can understand teenagers acting rash, but for the time period this book is set in I expected more from this character and her attitude to be set more to the time period.  

There was also a lot of aspects to the story that really irked me, the biggest one being the "romance" between Meg and Alejandro who is a priest in training from Spain. She first responds by wanting him to get closer to him and break is vows as a priest, but when he allows her to get close to him she pushes him away but then acts upset when he talks to anyone else.

I unfortunately did not like this book at all. I really wanted to like it but I really could not get into this story and I will at this time not be continuing with this series. 

Bout of Books Read A Thon 11.0

I am being a little ambitious, but I only have one books left on my monthly TBR so I hope I can finish reading it and read at least 300 pages of City of Heavenly Fire since it's massive. 

The List
Lucid- Adrienne Stoltz
City of Heavenly Fire- Cassandra Clare

July Wrap Up

The List

Find Me- Romily Bernard

Lola and the Boy Next Door- Stephanie Perkins

Amy and Rogers Epic Detour- Morgan Matson

The Selection- Kiera Cass (re-read)

The Elite- Kiera Cass

Lucid- Adrienne Stoltz 

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

Books I Own: 11
Borrowed: 9
E-Books: 0
Total: 20

Prisoner of Night and Fog- Anne Blankman
Saga: Volume 2- Brian K. Vaughan 
Frog Music- Emma Donoghue
Amy and Rogers Epic Detour- Morgan Matson
Sea of Shadows- Kelley Armstrong
Saga: Volume 3- Briank K. Vaughan
I Don't Want to be Crazy- Samantha Schutz
We Were Liars- E. Lockhart
Landline- Rainbow Rowell
Zac and Mia- A.J. Betts 
Find Me- Romily Bernard
Lola and the Boy Next Door- Stephanie Perkins
The Selection- Kiera Cass
The Elite- Kiera Cass
Going Over- Beth Kephart
American Born Chinese- Gene Luen Yang
Since You've Been Gone- Morgan Matheson
The Light Between Oceans- M.L Steadman 
Captain America: Operation Galactic Storm Part 1- Mark Gruenwald 
Tease- Amanda Maciel

Prisoner Of Night and Fog- Anne Blankman

Title: Prisoner of Night and Fog
Author: Anne Blankman
Source:  Borrowed from the library
Series:  Yes
Rating: 5/5








Goodreads Summary:
In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.
Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command.
Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.

***This review may contain spoilers****

Gretchen is the niece of Hitler who believes that her "uncle Dolf" can never be wrong and his political views are what she should also be believing until her brother beats a Jewish man and Gretchen starts to question if it was right or wrong of him to beat him. She also meets Daniel who is a Jewish reporter who tells her that her father was not killed bravely defending her uncle Dolf like she has been told but he was actually murdered and he wants the exclusive scoop on the story. 

The characters in this story were very realistic, when we meet Gretchen she is completely devoted to her uncle and her family and believes everything she is told but as the story progresses and she learns more about how Jewish people are being treated she starts to ask important questions and learns the ugly truth. The story also takes a few interesting turns. I was intrigued that the author went down the avenue of creating a relationship between Gretchen and her uncle. I watched a documentary not too long ago that said there may have been a little more than a uncle-niece relationship between Hitler and his nieces and I liked that the author explored this avenue briefly. I also enjoyed how she integrated Eva  into the story and how she becomes closer to Hitler as the story progresses. 

This book was amazing, it is new take on a hot topic. I absolutely love reading about WW2, especially about the holocaust and I cannot wait until the next book comes out. I need to buy this book and add it to my collection because I want to push this book on everyone.

Stacking the Shelves (127)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I have a substantial library hull this week :)

Borrowed from the Library
Testimony- Anita Shreve
Everything Leads to You- Nina LaCour
Norwegian Wood- Haruki Murakami
City of Heavenly Fire- Cassandra Clare
Locke and Key, Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
Thousand Words- Jennifer Brown

Bought Used- All these books for $7
The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd- Heather Brewer
Body Surfing- Anita Shreve
Pretties- Scott Westerfeld
The Other Typist- Suzanne Rindell

Bought New (Kindle)
Where There's Smoke- Jodi Picoult  (Free on Kindle)

What did you get this week?

August TBR

The List

Four: A Divergent Collection- Veronica Roth
Breakable- Tammara Webber
Shine- Jeri Smith-Ready
Witchstruck- Victoria Lamb
Dreamland- Sarah Dessen

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