April TBR

The List
The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly (big book/Goodreads shelf since 2012)
The Future Collection by Beth Revis (e-book)
Oxygen by Carol Cassella (The Life of a Book Addict List)
Skandal by Lindsay Smith (for review)

Review of The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Title: The Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Source: Borrowed from the library
Series:  Yes
Rating: 4/5









Goodreads Summary:
The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

There is a ton of hype surrounding this book. The cover immediately grabs your attention then of course reading the inside flap lures you in and then you read the book and completely understand why there is so much hype surrounding this book. 

Mare is an excellent protagonist. She takes none crap and she does not allow herself to become a love struck teenage girl. She has far too much on her plate to be bothered with boys. I like that she has feelings for a guy, but it does not overpower the story at all. I would also like to congratulate Aveyard on not making the love triangle the main focus in the first novel. There is a few characters who it seems might create a love triangle, but Mare has no time for that. I love Cal and Malvin as the princes. They are complex and I want to learn more about both of them. I think Farley could have her own novella because she has a lot of back story that I am curious about her.

This society has silvers bloods are the elite and red bloods are considered a lower class and are the workers for the silvers. Mare gets a job working for Silvers and a freak accident causes her to be brought to the silver's attention.

I am excited for the rest of this series.

Stacking the Shelves

This is another library haul.  I have been trying not to buy books. My local Goodwill is having a 50% off day next week so I might find some good finds. 

Borrowed from the library
Hold Still by Nina LaCour 
Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan 
The Song of Roland by Michael Rabagliati 
Little Women by Louise May Alcott (audiobook)
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (audiobook) 

Gifted (Chapters gift card)
Jessica Darling It List #1 by Megan McCafferty 

What did you get in your mailbox?

Review of Wild by Cheryl strayed

Title: Wild
Author: Cheryl Strayed
Source: Bought used
Series: Standalone
Series: 3/5









Goodreads Summary:
At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.

I found this book used for really cheap and I was really interested in reading this novel. The movie is coming out shortly and I decided I wanted to read it before I considered watching the movie hoping it would be an interesting story of a woman who decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

The story was a lot different than I thought it would be. We learn early on in the novel that Cheryl's mother has died at a young age from cancer and for the entire novel Cheryl uses this as an excuse for everything. She uses it as an excuse to ruin her marriage with her husband but seems to not understand why he may be attached to to other people after they are divorced. She uses it as an excuse whenever she has hurt anyone in her life. I was not a fan of Cheryl for not only using her mother's death as an excuse, but also because she seemed convinced everyone was attracted to her and when she did not get her way she would make these people sound like they were cruel individuals. 

There is a lot of people who float in and out of the story but I found all of them were memorable in their own way. Her description of the trail was sporadic and she skipped a lot of the trail and hitchhiked a lot and described her experience in that situation almost as much as she explained the trail.  

This novel's saving grace were the characters and the trail. I loved reading about the trail. I have donated this novel. I liked it but I was not in love with it. 

Review of Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Title:  Fairest
Author: Marissa Meyer 
Source: Borrowed from the library
Series: Yes
Rating: 4/5









Goodreads Summary:
Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series. 

This review  contain spoilers if you have not read the Lunar chronicles or this novel. 

Meyer is showing us how Queen Levana became the queen and why she uses glamour. I felt a little sympathetic for Levana, but then her horribleness starts to show itself again. She starts using her persuasion on people at a young age to get what she wants and her sister is not much better.

We see briefly Winter and Cinder as children playing together and find out how Levana came to have Winter as a daughter and what led up to Levana trying to murder Cinder. Levana's sister clearly is also off her rocker, and her making fun of her sister and not allowing Evret to leave with Winter. Ugh. 

Conclusion is Levana is evil and even though she had a terrible childhood I think even if she had a loving childhood she would still be a crazy queen. She forced Evret to marry her and stay with her because she could not stand that he did not love her. Poor Evret. 

This is is a must read for fans even thought I wanted Winter to be out right now so I know how it will all end. I need to so badly. 

Stacking the Shelves

Borrowed from the Library
Wings by Aprilynne Pike (audiobook)
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (audiobook)
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The Things We Cherish by Pam Jenoff
Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh
Fairest by Marissa Meyer
Willowgrove by Kathleen Peacock

What did you get in your mailbox?

Review of Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty

Title: Fourth Comings
Author: Megan McCafferty
Source: Bought new
Series:  Yes
Rating: 4/5









Goodreads Summary:
At first it seems that she’s living the elusive New York City dream. She’s subletting an apartment with her best friend, Hope, working for a magazine that actually utilizes her psychology degree, and still deeply in love with Marcus Flutie, the charismatic addict-turned-Buddhist who first captivated her at sixteen. 

Of course, reality is more complicated than dreamy clichés. She and Hope share bunk beds in the “Cupcake”—the girlie pastel bedroom normally occupied by twelve-year-old twins. Their Brooklyn neighborhood is better suited to “breeders,” and she and Hope split the rent with their promiscuous high school pal, Manda, and her “genderqueer boifriend.” Freelancing for an obscure journal can’t put a dent in Jessica’s student loans, so she’s eking out a living by babysitting her young niece and lamenting that she, unlike most of her friends, can’t postpone adulthood by going back to school. 

Yet it’s the ever-changing relationship with Marcus that leaves her most unsettled. At the ripe age of twenty-three, he’s just starting his freshman year at Princeton University. 

This is the fourth books in the Jessica Darling series. I cannot say too much without giving away too much information. This book is so amazing and the series keeps getting better and better as it goes along. 

The book is from Jessica's point of view just like the other books, but this one felt different to me. It still had the same sense of humour, but I also felt my heartbreaking slowly in a million different ways. The ending tore my heart out and I had to read the first chapter of the final book because there is no way I could not. The final novel so far looks like we may see things through Marcus's point of view.

Everyone needs to read this series, there is so much awesome in these books. Jessica Darling ages slowly in front of us and you get to see her experience love and heartbreak and friendship in varying degrees. Also Jessica's family is hilarious. Her dad especially cracks me up. They are a little dysfunction but they are all there for each other. 

I want to read the final book in the series this year but I am trying to space it out because once I finish this I am done with the Jessica Darling series. I have only read the first book in the pre-teen Jessica Darling series and it is just as good. McCafferty brings the same sense of humour into this series. 

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Borrowed from the Library (Audiobook)
The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom

Bought New (Kindle)
The Future Collection by Beth Revis

What did you get in your Mailbox?

Reading Multiple Books

Reading more than one book at a time is a new development for me. I used to strictly be a one book at a time person, but lately I have been juggling two, even three books at a time. 

I have been trying to have an audiobook on my phone at all times that way when I have a few minutes I can listen instead of sitting in silence. 

I started a new part of my job recently where I am answering emails which is sometimes for a few hours or my entire day and without listening to anything I find I can't concentrate and get easily distracted so I started utilizing my library's audiobook collection. I have used OverDrive before, but not on a regular basis and recently I discovered how silly I was not to do this. I never realized how much reading time I was missing out on. I listen to books while I am getting ready for work and on my commute to work then at work I can finish an entire book sometimes which is awesome. 

Concentration on more than one book has always been an issue for me but I find now I can differentiate from each story and I enjoy it. My library has an extensive collection of audiobooks which are completely free and ready to borrow at any time. I have been downloading books I own at home that I want to read but are not on my immediate TBR and listening to them. This has been making clear off my shelf a lot faster than I normally would and I am really enjoying being able to do this. I've read books I did not think I would ever get to and I am so proud that I can now move these books to my read shelves.

Do you enjoy reading more than one book at a time? Do you like audiobooks? Let me know.

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I only bought one book this week. I went to my local Goodwill's 50% off sale and I only found one book which sounded interesting to me which is unusual since I usually have to restrain myself.

Bought Used
The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison

Borrowed from the Library (audiobooks)
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

What did you get in your mailbox?

February Wrap Up

February is always a blah month for me. I read a lot more than I anticipated.

The List
One Good Hustle- Billie Livingston (The Life of a Book Addict List)
I Heart New York- Lindsey Kelk (ebook)
Fourth Comings- Megan McCafferty (been on my Goodreads TBR since 2012)
Spirit Bound- Richelle Mead (big book)

Books I Own:  8
Borrowed: 6
E-Books: 2
Audiobooks: 6
Re-Reads: 1
Total: 14

Roadie: My Life on the Road with Coldplay by Matt McGinn
Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Initiate by Veronica Roth
Empire of Shadows by Miriam Forster 
The Sea of Monster by Rick Riordan
I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk
On The Edge by Allison Van Diepen
One Good Hustle- Billie Livingston
Through to You by Emily Hainsworth
Stone In The Sky by Cecil Castellucci
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 
The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters 
The Passage by Justin Cronin 

March TBR

I am keeping the list short since I did not complete my TBR last month.

The List
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (big book and it is also left from last month)
All Lined Up by Cora Carmack (e-book)
Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready (The Life of a Book Addict List)

Left over from my last month TBR was:
Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty (I got about 20ish pages into it so far)