Stacking the Shelves (13)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga of Tynga's Reviews. It's a weekly post where book bloggers showcase the books they received throughout the week.

So I have been a bit of a fail as a blogger the last couple of weeks, but life has been somewhat crazy. I kept on going from one place to another and then school and work started up again last week so things have been a little hectic. But I am determined to get back into the swing of things and what better way than to do a Stacking the Shelves post since I haven't done one in about a month or so. So without further ado, here's what I got in the past month or so.

Review:

- Dead is a Killer Tune by Marlene Perez - This is actually the 7th book in a series and I previously got the 6th one so since they are all pretty short, I may eventually pick it up.

- The Broken Lands by Kate Milford - I have honestly never heard of this book before but I read the synopsis and it sounds interesting so I may pick it up eventually. It sounds like it is more MG so it could be an interesting change of pace.

- What Came from the Stars by Gary D. Schmidt - Like with the previous one, I haven't heard of this book before and it sounds like MG so it could be interesting to read.

- Sons of the 613 by Michael Rubens - Once again, never heard of this book before but I read the synopsis and it definitely sounds interesting. So who knows, I may just end up picking it up soon.

Thank you to Thomas Allen & Sons for sending me these 4 books for review.

Purchased:

- Glitch by Heather Anastasiu - I've been hearing about this one for the longest time and have been looking forward to reading it for about just as long. So you can be sure that I will be picking this one up and reviewing it soon.

- Spark by Brigid Kemmerer - Oh my god. I had been more or less dying for this book ever since I finished Storm and it was pretty much amazing. I have already read it so you can probably expect a review in the coming week or so.

- The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore - I bought this one today at the Smart Chicks signing in order to get it signed by the author. But I've read the synopsis and it definitely sounds like something I am looking forward to reading.

- Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore - Again, I bought this one at the Smart Chicks event to get it signed by the author. This one I have heard plenty of great things about and it sounds like a spooky read so maybe I'll hold up on reading it until around Halloween.

- Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr - Another book I bought at the Smart Chicks event. I've heard this book is fantastic so I am so looking forward to reading it.

- Origin by Jessica Khoury - I have heard plenty of amazing things about this book so I am definitely looking forward to reading it. Hopefully I have time to pick it up in the near future.

Swag:

Like I mentioned I was at the Smart Chicks event today in Montreal and I was able to get some swag from some of the authors there. Be sure to check back on the blog on Monday for a full recap of the event with some pictures!

That's it for me. Considering this is a month's worth of books, I haven't gotten too many new ones, which is a good thing considering the current state of my shelves and TBR pile. As usual, leave me a comment telling me what you got and I'll try to come and stop by your blog as well!

Entice by Jessica Shirvington

Title: Entice (Violent Eden Chapters #2)

Author: Jessica Shirvington

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: September 4, 2012

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

CONSEQUENCE HAUNTS EVERY CHOICE.

Violet Eden is Grigori--part angel, part human. Her destiny is to protect humans from the vengeance of exiled angels.

Knowing who to trust is key but, when Grigori reinforcements arrive, it becomes clear everyone is hiding something. Even Lincoln. The only thing Violet does know: Phoenix's hold over her is more dangerous than ever.

The race to find the one thing that could title the balance of power brings them all to the sacred mountains of Jordan, where Violet's power will be pushed to the extreme And the ultimate betrayal exposed.

I had enjoyed Jessica Shirvington's Embrace when I read it earlier this year, so I was definitely looking forward to reading Entice, the second book in the series. And I was completely blown away. Before I knew it, I couldn't bear to put the book down, even for just one moment.

Now that she has Embraced, Violet Eden is a full-blown Grigori. And now her life is just that much more complicated. Her friendship with Lincoln is on shaky grounds, and wanting more than just friendship is only going to lead to more trouble and heartbreak. Against her will, Violet still has a link to Phoenix, and he's not about to let her go any time soon. But with the arrival of the Grigori from the Academy, Violet needs to put all her efforts into her training and on finding the Scriptures. Except there may be more going on and everyone and everything may not be as it seems.

While I had found Embrace to be an enjoyable read, it hadn't really been anything that blew me away. But despite that, I had still been looking forward to reading Entice because the story had piqued my curiosity. And boy am I glad that it did. Entice ended up being a fantastic read. Jessica Shirvington didn't waste any time getting to the action. Right from the start there was something happening, and it kept up through the whole book. What makes this so interesting to me is all the angel mythology, especially since i can see where a lot of it comes from, and can even understand it. But there are definitely other aspects of the story that made it very difficult to put the book down once I started reading. And the ending just left me begging for more.

Right from the beginning of this series, I really liked Violet Eden, and that didn't change when I read Entice. Violet is definitely a strong characters, both physically and mentally. This is a girl who can more than hold her own in a battle and doesn't scare easy. But at the same time, she still has a vulnerable side and that makes her more real to me. That vulnerable side often comes out when Lincoln is involved. Because Lincoln is Lincoln and he is hard to put into words without revealing absolutely everything. And if it wasn't obvious already, I may have developed a small crush on Lincoln. The new characters were also great and I absolutely loved Spence. He just always managed to put a smile on my face.

Entice by Jessica Shirvington was a fantastic read. With just the right mix of paranormal, action, romance and heartbreak, it made for the kind of book I just can't seem to put down once I start reading.

Waiting on Wednesday (61)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where book bloggers devote a post to an upcoming book release they are particularly looking forward to.

THIS WEEK'S PICK:

SCARLET BY MARISSA MEYER

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prise--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

I cannot even begin to describe how unbelievably excited I am for the release of Scarlet. I absolutely adored Marissa Meyer's debut, Cinder, when I read it earlier this year and ever since I have been dying to find out what happens next with Cinder and Prince Kai. And I'm also really excited to meet new characters. From what I've heard from people who've already read it, it's just as good as the first book in the series, if not even better.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer will be published February 5th, 2013 by Feiwel and Friends.

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Obsidian (Lux #2)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Release Date: August 14, 2012

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon's determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I've sworn him off, even though he's running more hot than cold these days. But we've got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense is here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I'm a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who's got a secret of his own. He knows that's happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I've see someone who shouldn't be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he's never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them--from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Ever since reading the last page of Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout I have been dying to read Onyx. So when the copy I had on pre-order arrived I couldn't help but start reading it right away. And boy did it deliver. If anything, Onyx was even better than Obsidian. And it was also way hotter.

Katy never thought moving to West Virginia was going to be as crazy as it turned out to be. It doesn't help that her next door neighbors are aliens and that she has been marked by one of them. Because of that, Katy now has to spend all her time with Daemon Black. Which shouldn't be so bad considering how hot Daemon is. But he's also really infuriating and has the ability to really get under Katy's skin. But now Katy has more to worry about than just being attacked by Daemon's enemies, the Arum. Because the Department of Defense has shown up in town and if they find out about Daemon and the other Luxen's abilities, things might get dangerous for everyone involved.

So, um, yeah. About Onyx. Be sure to have a lot of time on your hands when you start reading this book because you will not want to put it down. Unfortunately for me, I made the mistake of picking up Onyx when I only had a few minutes to read and then I kept on wanting to go back to reading it even though I couldn't. What I especially liked about Onyx was that the action started straight off the bat. There was no waiting for something to happen. And as you may have guessed, that action took on many forms. If you thought Obsidian was hot, it was nothing compared to Onyx. Jennifer L. Armentrout really knows how to write those sexy scenes…and how to leave you begging for more once they are over. The story itself was also quite intense. There was a whole lot more happening in Onyx and it kept me turning the pages as quickly as I possibly could. And then I got to the end, and as soon as I read the last word I started wishing I had Opal  already. 

Once again, I absolutely loved that Katy is a book blogger. All the references she made to books and blogging just put a smile on my face and it allowed me to relate to her that much more. Though I can't really say I relate to falling in love with my alien neighbor. Beyond her being a blogger, I love Katy for her determination and her stubbornness, granted the latter has a tendency to get her in tricky situations. And those tricky situations usually tend to involve Daemon in some way. Though because they were tricky, that isn't to say the situations weren't fun. But Daemon. I loved that I got to get in his head a little more. I know why he's doing the things he's doing and even when he's being an ass, it's usually for the right reasons. And the more I saw of Daemon, no matter how infuriating he was, the more I liked him. Because let's admit, he's pretty hard to resist. And Blake had nothing on him.

Onyx was an absolutely thrilling read. With every page I turned, I just kept on wanting more and when it was all over I was practically begging for Opal, the next book. Over the past year, Jennifer L. Armentrout has made a name for herself in YA and books like Onyx only serve to show why her writing has become so popular.

Update!

You may or may not have noticed that I have been somewhat absent for the past couple of weeks. Beyond blog tours that had already been scheduled, I haven't really been posting much. The main reason for that is that I had family visiting, and then I was visiting family and I kept on going from one place to the next. But now I'm back at home and posting should be back to normal this week. Though this week is also when classes start up again for me so things might still be a little hectic. 

But through all of this I have still been reading so I have plenty of books that need to be reviewed. In the coming weeks expect reviews of Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout, 7 Clues to Winning You by Kristin Walker and Entice by Jessica Shirvington. So be sure to keep checking back as posting will be back to what it usually is!