Recommend A…(14)

Aug 20

Recommend A... meme

…Book by a Debut Author 

Recommend A… is a SUPER meme hosted by Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit that lets us get a little random, and a little off the radar. I LOVE IT.

Debut love! I love reading debuts. There’s something so enjoyable about reading a book from a completely new voice. It makes me giddy and so stoked! Here are a few of my favorite debuts! (I’m keeping this list to the last two years or so. Just to keep things from getting out of hand.)

Book cover for Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Unraveling: Unraveling #1 by Elizabeth Norris. This book was pretty stellar. It surprised me by going in a totally different direction than I thought it would. It was a nonstop pace, exciting and fresh. Also it made me cry. Books that make me cry automatically make me love them a little bit extra.

book cover for Born wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Born Wicked: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1 by Jessica Spotswood. Ah, witches! I love witches. What I loved about BORN WICKED was the way it was different from every other witch book I’ve ever read. The time period–turn of the 20th century Maine–was new; the alternate history following the Salem Witch Trials was new; the mythology of the witches and the warlocks and the Sisterhood/Brotherhood was new. And the ending was wrenching.

Book cover for The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder. WAH FEELINGS! I know that some people found the main character, Cam, hard to like, but I appreciated her prickliness. It had a reason that I found heartbreaking and real. Cam coping with her cancer and her own mortality was devastating and gorgeous, and I can’t wait to see what Wendy Wunder has in store next.

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In My Mailbox (41)

Aug 19

August 19, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

Guys, have you noticed that I haven’t gotten a lot of books from NetGalley lately? Aren’t you proud of me?!  I’ve been resisting it really well, I think. Which is good, because I’ve got plenty of NetGalley stuff to read already. Plus it give me more time to moon over the books that I buy for myself, like this week’s small haul. 

BOUGHT

Book cover for Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar
Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar. I have already read RAW BLUE, but now I can actually have a real copy of my own, thanks to UK publisher Catnip and fishpond.com. Guys, this book is one of the best Aussie contemps ever. It’s about a girl named Carly who has some horrible things in her past, and the surfer guy she bonds with who helps her move past them. Except it’s not as smooth and perfect as that little synopsis of mine sounds, and it’s certainly not cute. “Raw” is a good word for this book. Also AMAZING.
book cover for Dante's Girl by Courtney Cole
Dante’s Girl: The Paradise Diaries #1 by Courtney Cole. I just heard about this book earlier this week, and I decided to give it a go. It’s a self-pub, but it sounds really cute, and it’s about an American girl in London, and I can ALWAYS get behind that. Fingers crossed that it’s as adorable and fun as it sounds!

I’m so excited for the books I got this week! Hope you guys love what you got in your mailboxes, too!

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Excuse Me While I Fangirl: More Korra Art

Aug 16

Guys, I miss Legend of Korra SO HARD. Like, on Saturday mornings, I think of how there’s no new episodes on anymore and it makes me a little sad. So to help stave off my deep need for more Korra, Mako, Beifong, and the rest, I went searching for some arty Legend of Korra goodness on a great website for prints, Society 6. I think I found some super prints, too. *SIGH* Korra…I miss you, girl!

These prints link back to the pages on Society 6, where you can order one to hang in a place of prominence. Obviously. Thanks and PROPS to the artists!

Legend of Korra

Copyright by Glassy

Y’all KNOW I would find the map of Avatar world. (Even though I don’t know what it’s called.)

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Copyright by Monica McClain

Aang! Toph! Katara! ZUKO! The Gaang is all tribal up in here, friends. I love this one.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Copyright by Imogen Scoppie

Seriously, super talented artist people? This print is so pretty! I love the turquoise and the orange. THESE TWO.

Legend of Korra

Copyright by Leesherv

Guys, this print is called “Portrait of a Hero.” OF COURSE it would be a print of Beifong. Would Legend of Korra be as fantastic as it is without Beifong kicking ass all over the place, making sacrifices and being a BAMF? No. No way.

Legend of Korra

Copyright by Oxfordwarhorse

I love this picture of Tenzin because, one, it’s an illustration, and I LOVE those. Two, the colors are perfect. Three, it’s TENZIN.

Legend of Korra

Copyright by Skylofts Merch

Umm, hello! Of course I’d rather be pro bending! Well, only if my teammates were Mako and Bolin, and only if there was none of that “stop pro bending forever because benders are the WORST” rhetoric going around. But YES to this.

Copyright by Leesherv

Water bending FTW! Actually, whenever I take any of those, “What element are you on Legend of Korra?” quizzes, I always end up an air bender. So maybe I should be saying, “Air bending FTW!” just to be consistent. But I do love this print, because Korra is  basically a superhero.

Copyright by Alice X. Zhang

So I love this print because I love the colors. It’s got blue for water, green for earth, red and orange for fire, and some more green/blue for air. All the elements. And I love how it looks like Korra’s got some flames coming off of her or something. Just awesome.

Dang, I love this world. I LOVE IT.

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Top Ten Tuesday (40)

Aug 14

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Couples Who Would Make It in the Real World

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely folks over at The Broke and the Bookish post a top ten list topic so that book lovers like you and me can pour over our shelves and make our own lists. You can check out all the other Top Ten Tuesday‘s on their site!

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Book Review: Easy by Tammara Webber

Aug 13

Book cover for Easy by Tammara Webber
Title: Easy

Author: Tammara Webber

Genre: Contemporary YA, New Adult

Publisher: Tammara Webber

Release date: May 25, 2012

Amazon | Goodreads

Source: Bought for my kindle

Summary: When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she’s single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex’s frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night–but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.

When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he’s hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

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Recommend A…(13)

Aug 13

Recommend A... meme

…Book With a Blue Cover

Recommend A… is a SUPER meme hosted by Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit that lets us get a little random, and a little off the radar. I LOVE IT.

You know why this one was hard, guys? Not because blue is an underrepresented color on book covers. No. There’s plenty. This was hard because most of the books I’ve read with blue covers all seem to be second, third, fourth, or even fifth books in a series, and I don’t want to recommend things out of order. My OCD won’t let me. So, here’s my contemp-heavy list. Yay, blue!

Moonglass by Jessi KirbyMoonglass by Jessi Kirby. Bluish-purple. Indigo! Anyway, this is a super-cute story about a young girl whose mother has committed suicide, and she’s back at the beach where her mother spent lots of time growing up, still trying to figure out what was going on in her mom’s head, and why she would choose to die over living with her family. There’s obviously a sweet romance, but there’s also a father/daughter relationship that I liked very much as well.

Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar. Blue twofer! It’s on the cover AND in the title! See those two Book cover for Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagarexclamation points there? That’s only a precursor to how much love and excitement and FEELINGS you’ll get from reading this Aussie contemp about a young surfer girl who’s got some damaging skeletons in her closet, and the guy who helps her move past them. Carly and Ryan are so amazing. PLUS, until this summer (until last week I believe!), this book was only available via generous friends with connections to Australian bookstores. But now that it’s pubbed in the UK, we can buy it online. This is the UK cover that will be in my hands shortly, but the original Aussie cover is blue, too.

Book cover for Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert MurdockDairy Queen (Dairy Queen #1) by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. One of my very favorite series, guys. Plus, I just LOVE the cow on this cover wearing the tiara. It’s such a hilarious image that, I think, gives a good idea of the vibe of this series about DJ Schwenk and her farm-dwelling family. I LOVE DJ, and I love the story of her struggling, hard working family. And I love her up-and-down relationship with Brian. So, so super.

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In My Mailbox (40)

Aug 12

August 5, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren. It’s awesome. Every week, we all get a chance to tell everyone what new books we’ve gotten so that we can tell you guys and we can all drool and squee together! Huzzah for squees!

SUPER excited about these two books, friends! 

BOUGHT

Throne of Glass: Throne of Glass #1 by Sarah J. Maas. I’ve actually just finished this one, friends, and it was wonderful. As solid a beginning to fantasy series as you’ll find. I cannot wait for book 2!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1 by Laini Taylor. Friends, I loved this book when I read it’s just GORGEOUS. So, so beautiful. I’ve always loved the UK cover of this book better than the US one, so I bought it for myself. I DIE over those opalescent feathers. DIE.

I’m so excited for the books I got this week! Hope you guys love what you got in your mailboxes, too!

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Book Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Aug 10

Book cover for Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth

Series: Divergent #2

Genre: Dystopian

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release date: May 1, 2012

Amazon | Goodreads

Source: Bought

Summary: One choice can transform you–or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves–and herself–while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable–and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

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Top Ten Tuesday (39)

Aug 7

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Posts on My Blog That Paint the Best Picture of Me

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every Tuesday, the lovely folks over at The Broke and the Bookish post a top ten list topic so that book lovers like you and me can pour over our shelves and make our own lists. You can check out all the other Top Ten Tuesday‘s on their site!

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Recommend A…(12)

Aug 6

Recommend A... meme

…Book That Someone Recommended To You

Recommend A… is a SUPER meme hosted by Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit that lets us get a little random, and a little off the radar. I LOVE IT.

I’ve been given some incredibly solid recommendations before, guys. These are three of my favorites. Books that, once I read them, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t read them sooner.

Book cover for The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind: The Kingkiller Chronicle #1 by Patrick Rothfuss. Do yourselves a favor and read this book. Seriously. One of the best books I’ve ever read, and I have basically every bloggy friend I have to thank for pushing me to pick this on up off my shelves and finally read it.

Book cover for Eon by Alison Goodman

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn: Eon/Eona #1 by Alison Goodman. One of my friends from library school told me about this book and how great it was. I read it based on her recommendation, and the fact that it’s an Asian-based fantasy about dragons, something I haven’t read much about. I’m not sure I can read another fantasy in an Asian-esque world without comparing it to this one.

Book cover for Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy: Vampire Academy #1 by Richelle Mead. I know, I know. This is not a random, unknown book. But seriously, I was burned out from the vamps, guys. This series made me wary. But EVERYONE told me that this was series was amazing. Everyone. And everyone was not a liar. I read this series–five books–in pretty much a week. So good.

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