Stacking the Shelves (#32) & Recap AKA: The Fangirl Edition

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Sadly, not the Fangirl, unfortunately, I still haven't bought it. Buuuut, I did buy two others that I've dying to read for ages, and I can finally get in on that fandom...Yes, I actually got Cinder and Anna and the French Kiss. I know, shocking.

So, why the Fangirl Edition? Remember that proof I was talking about last week? Yup. Its here. And

I received another proof by one of my favourite authors...

 

Review: The Secret Diamond Sisters

The Secret Diamond Sisters
Author: Michelle Madow

Publication Date: February 25th 2014 (March 7th  UK)              

~A proof copy was provided by Harlequin Teen/ Mira Ink in exchange for an honest review~

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Three sisters with Big secrets.

Get ready to meet...SAVANNAH. COURTNEY. PEYTON.
The Diamond sisters never knew their father and never could catch a break. But their luck is about to change when they find out the secret identity of their long-lost dad – a billionaire Las Vegas hotel owner who wants them to come and live in a gorgeous penthouse suite.

Suddenly they have access to all that their dad’s money can provide, meaning it should be easier than ever to fit right in. But in a town full of secrets and illusions, fitting in is nothing compared with finding out the truth about their past.

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The Secret Diamond Sisters, on one hand I really liked you. You were something new, based in a setting I hadn't read before, so Vegas sounds like a ton of fun and I really liked a few of the characters, and I also wanted to put a few of  the rest of the characters in their place. Including two of the leads. One I just wanted to shake to wake her up to the obvious, but other than that, you were enjoyable. It kind of ran like a The Hills type of show, only in Vegas. Is there already a reality TV show set in Vegas? If there's not, there should be.

ARC Review: Gretel and the Dark

Gretel and the Dark
Author:  Eliza Granville

Publication Date:  February 6th 2014   

~An Advance Readers Copy was provided in exchange for an honest review~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gretel and the Dark is Eliza Granville's dazzling novel of darkness, evil - and hope. Vienna, 1899.

Josef Breuer - celebrated psychoanalyst - is about to encounter his strangest case yet. Found by the lunatic asylum, thin, head shaved, she claims to have no name, no feelings - to be, in fact, not even human. Intrigued, Breuer determines to fathom the roots of her disturbance.

Years later, in Germany, we meet Krysta. Krysta's Papa is busy working in the infirmary with the 'animal people', so little Krysta plays alone, lost in the stories of Hansel and Gretel, the Pied Piper, and more. And when everything changes and the real world around her becomes as frightening as any fairy tale, Krysta finds that her imagination holds powers beyond what she could have ever guessed . . .

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Say hello to my little friend...

Joking.

I'm not friends with this book. So...

Review: Splintered

Splintered
Author: A.G. Howard

Publication Date: January 1st 2013        
Publisher: Amulet Books

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Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family.

She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.
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I was hesitant to pick up Splintered the first time I read it, because I wasn't really into retellings. How wrong was I? I loved it, and now, the second time around I love it even more. Even if a certain moth drives me crazy at times.

I think with retellings, why I was hesitant to read any was because I thought you basically know the outcome, and the whole setup, but the clever thing about Splintered is that it takes everything from Alice in Wonderland- from a child's mind- and re-imagined every bit from an adults mind and twists it. The tale from Alice in Wonderland is a sweet version, those little things that weren't quite right were turned innocent in her head, and it takes that, and uses it to it's advantage to re-imagine what you thought you knew about wonderland. A Wonderland that although is familiar, completely new.

Special Review: Staying Strong- 365 days a year

Staying Strong - 365 days a year
Author: Demi Lovato   

Publication Date: November 19th 2013   

~A huge thank you to Headline, who provided a copy in exchange for an honest review.~   

 

Demi Lovato wakes up each morning and affirms her commitment to herself—to her health, her happiness, her being. Those commitments are the bedrock of her recovery and her work helping other young people dealing with the issues she lives with every single day.

Demi is a platinum-selling recording artist whose latest album—DEMI—is already a smash hit. She’s about to embark on her second season as a judge on X-Factor, and just launched The Lovato Treatment Scholarship Program. And she is an outspoken advocate for young people everywhere.

Demi is also a young woman finding her way in the world. She has dealt deftly with her struggles in the face of public scrutiny, and she has always relied, not just on friends and family, but daily affirmations of her self-worth and value. Affirmations that steady her days and strengthen her resolve.

Those affirmations have grown into STAYING STRONG, a powerful 365-day collection of Demi’s most powerful, honest, and hopeful insights. Each day will provide the readers with a quote, a personal reflection and a goal.

These are Demi’s words. Words she lives by and shares with the people she loves and total strangers alike. They are a powerful testament to a young woman standing up and fighting back.

 

 

When you hear the name Demi Lovato, what do you think of? Whether you know her as a singer, an actress, or an X Factor judge, whether you're a fan of her or not, you would have heard about her checking herself into rehab, and once out, her struggles.

We put people up on pedestals, and judge them by a look, on what you think you know without knowing that person. Especially well known public figures.

 

We judge on what we read, hear, see in a paper, or a misinterpreted interview. We judge them because you think they think they're better than everyone else, because of their job, their money.  Because they're in the public eye, you think you can without any thought, because they're free game, right? You judge them on your own misconceptions, but, what does that say about you?

So, I'll ask again.

Stacking the Shelves (#21) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

 

This week was so much better than last week, I'm no longer freaking out about buying Christmas presents, my Secret Santa was sent, I also received mine yesterday! I'm dying to open it, but I won't...yet. See how long that lasts. I've gotten a ton of things sorted, which has put a positive spin on everything, so things have been good! Happy 1st December! Now I have to put up decorations, damn.

 

 For review:

 

 

Vengeance, Staying Strong (365 days a year)

(Thanks to Bloomsbury Childrens, Netgalley & Headline)

 

 

Bought

Secret Santa

 

Since I haven't opened it, whoever mine was, thank you! You totally brightened my day.:)
 

 

 

So that's it! What did you get this week? :)

  



 A recap of posts this week

 

• Monday I reviewed  Revel by Maurissa Guibord 
• Teaser Tuesday from Fake ID by Lamar Giles
• Waiting on Wednesday: Landry Park by Bethany Hagen
• Booking Through Thursday: Holiday Season
• Friday I reviewed The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard
  Feature & Follow (#7)  

This week I have read:

• The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard 
• This Wicked Game by Michelle Zink
• Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Stacking the Shelves (#19) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

How's everyone's week been? Mines been good, I uh, went into town twice this week, even though I said I banned myself last week. But, I only got three! And none for review this week, which I'm so happy about, I'm getting through some of them now.

Bought
 

 

 

  

 

• The Gods of Olympus by Barbara Graziosi (Actually, my nan bought me this. She knows me so well.
• Every Day by David Levithan (Though, I do love the cover, but it's too bright of an orange and hurts my eyes.)
• This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith (I finally got around to buying it! I really liked The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, and I've been wanting to get it for a while, so yay!)

So that's it! What did you get this week? :)

  



 A recap of posts this week

 

• Monday I reviewed  Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb
• Teaser Tuesday from A Breath of Frost by Shelena Shorts
• Waiting on Wednesday: The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings
• Friday I reviewed Cracked by Eliza Crewe
• Saturday Blog Tour: Guest Post by Eliza Crewe
 

 

 

This week I have read:

• Revel by Maurissa Guibord  
• Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott
• Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton

 

Review: Cracked

Cracked
Author: Eliza Crewe

Publication Date: November 5th 2013

Source: An advanced copy was provided by  Strange Chemistry in exchange  for an honest review.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.

Stuck in an asylum for the past two weeks, what Meda's anticipated since then has finally arrived, and as her mother used to say, she's hangry. To live and to survive, Meda must eat a living soul, it's messy and bloody, but she's equipped and enjoys it. She makes it a point, on her mother's wishes, that she only kills bad people. Which, brings us back to the slimy asylum, in which she admitted herself to get closer to the target of a girl ghosts' murder.

She doesn't like the tables being turned.

Review: Unbreakable

Unbreakable
Author: Kami Garcia

Publication Date: October 1st 2013        
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.
 When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.



I really, really wanted to like Unbreakable.

1) It was in one of my Waiting on Wednesdays

and

2) It was pitched as Supernatural meets The Da Vinci Code.

What wasn't there to like?

A. Lot.