Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, and it's a weekly meme all about the books that are coming out soon that we really can't wait to read.
Whew, I am on a roll. WOW every week for like six weeks. Go me!! *happy dance* Anyhoo, this is what I'm waitin' for this week...
Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.
Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.
And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.
He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.
I love Sanderson's book The Rithmatist and can't wait for this book! Yay! :D
Well, that's what I'm waiting for today! What are you waiting for? :D
In My Mailbox was created by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's a perfect way to see who's reading and review what. Awesome!
Ok, I seriously need to do IMMs more often. This is getting ridiculous. This is like a month of books - if not more! Guys, if I don't do my next IMM next Sunday, will you all please email me and say: 'Hey, you lazy blogger! Get your nose out of that book and do your flipping IMM!!' Please? I seriously need all the encouragement I can get cos otherwise I'll just read and not do anything!! ;)
Ok, so anyways: this is what I got this week/last few weeks/maybe a month/maybe two/don't really know how long/I need a calender. But I can tell you something super exciting... Ok, two somethings that are super exciting.
First: It's my birthday tomorrow! Yay me!
Second: And EVEN MORE EXCITING!! Like six or seven of the people mentioned in this IMM are taking part in my Fortnight of Guests: The Authors... :D Speaking of, check out my banner! Seriously, though. I need to do these more often. Otherwise I get stuck doing the freaking mother of all IMMs and my head starts to hurt. But anyway. This is what I got. Dare ya to guess who's taking part in Fortnight of Guests! :D Happy Birthday Me!
Inferno (Robert Langdon, Book Four) by Dan Brown(Goodreads | Amazon)
Bestselling Author of the Da Vinci Code
Yay! Can't wait to get stuck in - I love Dan Brown!!
Daimon (Covenant, Book 0.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Goodreads | Amazon)
Half-Blood(Covenant, Book 1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout(Goodreads | Amazon)
Pure (Covenant, Book 2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout(Goodreads | Amazon)
Deity (Covenant, Book 3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout(Goodreads | Amazon)
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot WAIT to read this series!!! I've already started on Daimon!! Man, I am SO excited!! :D
Requiem (Delirium, Book Three) by Lauren Oliver(Goodreads | Amazon)
The Final Book Of The Internationally Best-Selling DELIRIUM Trilogy
I so want to read this but at the same time really don't! I don't want this series to end! And also... that last ending! The boys! *heart breaking* I'm so confused!!!
The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey, Book Three) by Julie Kagawa (Goodreads | Amazon)
Summer Ends.
Ice Melts. Here's What's Left.
Yay! Happy dance! I needed Book Three and I got it!! :D
Shades of Earth (Across the Universe, Book Three) by Beth Revis(Goodreads | Amazon)
What Do You Do When The Truth You Have Longed For Will Destroy You?
YesyesyesYES!!! *happy dance*
Unravel Me (Shatter Me, Book Two) by Tahereh Mafi (Goodreads | Amazon)
They Want To Find Me. I Will Find Them First.
SQUEEEEEE!!!!! OMG, I cannot TELL you how EXCITED I AM about this book!!!!! YESSSSS!!!!!
Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days, Book One) by Susan Ee(Goodreads | Amazon)
They Have Arrived...
This looks freaking awesome!!
The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, Book One) by Julie Kagawa (Goodreads | Amazon)
For Fans Of Snow White & The Huntsman
Yay yay yay yay yay!!! :D
For Review:
The Keeper (DI Sean Corrigan, Book Two) by Luke Delaney(Goodreads | Amazon) Loved Cold Killing. Can't wait to read this! :D The Killing Game (Carson Ryder, Book Nine) by J.A. Kerley(Goodreads | Amazon) There Can Only Be One Killer In... The Killing Game Squee! I haven't read any of the Carson Ryder series, but I'm excited to read this one! Shadow and Bone/Siege and Storm (Grisha, Books1&2) by Leigh Bardugo(Shadow and Bone: Goodreads | Amazon; Storm and Siege: Goodreads | Amazon) I freaking LOVED Siege and Storm!!! Don't believe me? Check out my review: here! :D
The Arrivals by Melissa Marr (Goodreads | Amazon) LOVE Melissa Marr! And this cover is so totally GORGEOUS!! Started reading it the other day, know it's going to be amazing!
Feral Youth by Polly Courtney(Goodreads | Amazon) This one looks brilliant, really excited about reading it!
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think this is one of the books I was most excited to get!!! I've been wantign it for ages.... and now it's here. In front of me. I'm stroking it. #MyLifeIsComplete ;)
Hurt by Tabitha Suzuma (Goodreads | Amazon) Matheo Hides A Secret So Terrible It Could Destroy Everything... After the Olympics I became interested in diving. Tabitha is, obviously, a legend. Ergo, super excited!! Witchstruck (The Tudor Witch Trilogy, Book One) by Victoria Lamb(Goodreads | Amazon) Excited about reading this! Forgot to take a picture, 'cause I'm dumb like that. ;) My Super Exciting Parcel...
Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntrye(Goodreads | Amazon) OMG, I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how EXCITED I AM about this book!!! I absolutely LOVED IT!! The drawings are GORGEOUS, the writing FUNNY and the plot so far AWESOME!! :D
Winter Damage by Natasha Carthew(Goodreads | Amazon) Plus Winter Damage Reading Kit: Fingerless Gloves, Wispa Bar, Hot Chocolate, Tissues Love this book so far! And awesome care package!! Though it always worries me when they send tissues... ;)
Angel Swag!! Angel Signed ARC Angel & Angel Fire Tasters 2x Angel Buttons 3x Angel Bookmarks Usborne Bookmark Level 2 Postcard Usborne Bag Angel Series by L.A. Weatherly (Goodreads | Amazon)
Bought:
Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, Book One) by Veronica Rossi(Goodreads | Amazon)
Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky, Book One) by Veronica Rossi(Goodreads | Amazon)
Loving the look of these two! Heard so many awesome things: can't wait to read them!
My Soul To Save (Soul Screamers, Book Two) by Rachel Vincent (Goodreads | Amazon)
My Soul To Keep(Soul Screamers, Book Three) by Rachel Vincent (Goodreads | Amazon)
Not pictured.
My Soul to Steal(Soul Screamers, Book Four) by Rachel Vincent (Goodreads | Amazon)
If I Die(Soul Screamers, Book Five) by Rachel Vincent (Goodreads | Amazon)
Before I Wake(Soul Screamers, Book Six) by Rachel Vincent (Goodreads | Amazon)
Bought all of these a while back in The Works for under a tenner! Not bad, that!! :D
Silence (Hush, Hush, Book Three) by Becca Fitzpatrick(Goodreads | Amazon)
The Third Book In The Internationally Bestselling Hush, Hush Sequence
Yay!
The Salem Witch Society by K.N. Shields (Goodreads | Amazon)
Don't know why this one called to me. But I really wanted it! :D
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (Goodreads | Amazon) Looking forward to this one! Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant (Goodreads | Amazon) Ditto! Might have to watch the movie! #EyeCandy Robert Patterson!!! ;) Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (Goodreads | Amazon) This book is a monster. Like over 1600 pages. In French. Talk about light summer reading...
Voyage au Centre de la (Extraordinary Voyages) by Jules Verne (Goodreads | Amazon) Vingt Mille Lieues Sous Les Mers (Extraordinary Voyages) by Jules Verne (Goodreads | Amazon) Yay! Manon des Sources (L'eau Des Collines, Book Two) by Marcel Pagnol (Goodreads | Amazon) Jean de Florette (L'eau Des Collines, Book One) by Marcel Pagnol (Goodreads | Amazon) Brilliant series! Can't wait to read! :D La Nuit Des Enfants Rois by Bernard Lenteric (Goodreads | Amazon) Notre Intelligence Est Sans Limite. Notre Vengeance Sera Sans Pitié... A brilliant book! Totally terrifying!
Les Rivières Pourpres by Jean-Christophe Grange (Goodreads | Amazon)
Nice looking thriller. Yay!
Le Rouge et le Noir by Stendhal (Goodreads | Amazon) Loving this - awesome!! Great book. Jean de Florette and Manon des Source DVD (Amazon)
Bought For English: Paired with Shakespeare's Othello. More books/plays/poems needed though... ;)
We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver(Goodreads | Amazon)
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan(Goodreads | Amazon) Looks brilliant!!
Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell Trilogy, Book One) by Hilary Mantel(Goodreads | Amazon) To get a taste of the time period. ;)
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys(Goodreads | Amazon) Jane Eyre prequel!! Squee!!! :D :D
OMG, thank GOD that's done!! I'm going to go sleep now... This has taken freaking forever!!!! Anyways, hope you're all enjoying the summer and are reading loads of good books!! :D Happy Reading everyone!!
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, and it's a weekly meme all about the books that are coming out soon that we really can't wait to read.
Ok, be prepared for a bit of fangirling. I'm just loving the look of this book. And I'm so excited - waiting sucks! I mean.... Um... this book looks totally brilliant...! :D
From New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston comes this remarkable first book in a spellbinding new series about the dawn of a new kind of magic.
Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.
At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.
But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.
This. Looks. Freaking. Amazing. I. Cannot. Freaking. Wait. SQUEEEE!!!! *fangirls* Ok, I'm done... This book looks awesome. Why is September so far away? And I think that it might not even come out til December in the UK...
Well, that's what I'm waiting for today! What are you waiting for? :D
When
Brendan, Cordelia and Nell move to Kristoff House they have no idea that they
are about to unleash the dark magic locked within.
Now
the Walker kids must battle against deadly pirates, bloodthirsty warriors and a
bone-crunching giant. If they fail they will never see their parents again and
a crazed witch will take over the world.
No
pressure then...
House of Secrets is the first book in a major new series.
It's going to be epic.
Review
‘Suddenly a face appeared. Inches from
Brendan's own, hissing, its voice like a swarm of wasps leaving hell.
"You
don't belong here..."’
The Walkers kids used to have everything.
A normal life, full of books for Cordelia, games for Brendan and pony
dreams for Eleanor.
That was before The Incident.
The Incident that made them leave their
home and find a new place to live.
The Incident that led them to Kristoff
House.
The kids know instantly something is up with
the house. First, there's a shadowy figure watching them, then darting
away. All they can find is a stone statue. A statue that
disappears, leaving a bald woman in its place, telling Bren to leave – now. And then there's the price –
the house is beautiful, old, full of antiques. And yet it's cheaper than
a flat.
So what's going on?
Well, the children soon find out, as they
are thrown into the middle of a tangle of dark secrets – and darker magic.
Trapped in a whole other world...
Without their parents...
And completely, utterly alone...
When I saw House of Secrets was written by Chris Columbus, I knew I had to read it. I mean, he's a movie legend. And Ned
Zizzini? He's the writer of Teen
Wolf – a show I absolutely adore. So it's safe to say that I had
ridiculously high expectations of House
of Secrets. And I must say, it lived up to them. It had all the
action, adventure, suspense, fantasy, humour and family feel that I'd expect
from these two authors. But by far the best quality was the fantastical
world – oh, and the wonderfully odd sense of humour too. And my God, kids
will love this! I just know they will. It's so exciting and
accessible and enjoyable and is just a really fun, pretty easy read.
The siblings were all so brilliant.
They kinda reminded me of the Baudelaire siblings from the Series of Unfortunate Events – in a good
way. They were all so wonderfully unique and smart. And I love
the relationship the three of them had – it was so real and funny. Their
bickering was just hilarious – this one scene in particular just had me totally
cracking up! Out of the three, I think
Cordelia was my favourite – she was the one I connected with instantly, what
with her being intelligent, amazingly logical and a total
book-lover-slash-geek. So, obviously, I
could relate to her the most. And even
though she was level headed, mature and calm, she was, hehe, named after Cordy
from Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
I liked Brendan too – he was a total gaming
addict (I’ve been there, guys: my brothers are addicted to that kinda thing
too), but he was brave too. He was
constantly trying to prove himself, and some of his ideas were brilliant. Others?
Yeah, not so much. For example:
his shouting match with the pirates...
Though that was hilarious!
Eleanor reminded me of myself aged eight –
horse obsessed! She was sweet and
enthusiastic and funny, as well as being tough and brave and proving an
eight-year-old could totally hold her own! I loved her!
The other characters were amazing – they
all had real personalities, all these quirks that made them, them. Other
than the siblings, some of my favourite characters were the pirates. I
mean, sure, they weren't exactly good
or whatever, but man were they funny! I also had a bit of a soft spot for
Will, who was a bit sexist (he was a
WWI pilot, though…) but was brave and loyal and when all’s said and done, isn’t
that all that matters? Plus the villain...(ess?) was awesome – so scary and
such a brilliant, strong baddie: you could really hate her but could also understand
her too, if that makes sense.
The writing was good – quite basic, but that's
expected from a MG book. Nonetheless, everything was wonderfully
described and I loved the wit and humour in the dialogue. Though sometimes
it felt a little... I dunno, stiff, maybe. But if I'm entirely honest, I
think I only think that because I'm fussy. Either way, it didn't really
detract from what I really loved about the book – i.e., the plot, the kids and,
even though I also hate her, the villainess.
And the plot, as expected from Columbus and Vizzini, was fast paced and
action packed. I loved that about it – how it was never dull. It
was the kinda plot you could just see inside your head, playing out like a
movie. It was really rather addictive. It was just so suspenseful
and full of action. Plus, I never knew what was going to happen next.
I didn't even know who was going to die – I was shocked many times!
As I mentioned before, the best part of
this book for me was the world. It was so amazing – so inventive and 3D.
It was so awesome and cool and new. But I was a little shaky about the whole
magic thing – like, how much magic is there in the real world – is there magic
or is it just ‘The Book’? But again: me being picky. I only started
caring once I'd finished the book and knew how it all ended. It's really
just afterthought pickiness.
House
of Secrets was an action packed book full
of action, suspense, dark magic, witty siblings and, you guessed it, a house
full of secrets. I was pulled right into the story and literally raced
through, totally hooked and desperate to know what would happen next, how the
plot would end (well but with a nice twisty cliff-hanger that's left me desperate
for more). I really enjoyed it and I've been left desperate for it to be
made into a movie – directed by Columbus, of course. It would just kick butt.
But really, what else do you expect from Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini?
House
of Secrets didn't exactly blow me away in
the way I thought it would, but it did blow me away in ways I wasn't expecting.
I really did enjoy the story and definitely recommend it – especially to
younger readers and us older ones who just want a good old fashioned fantasy
adventure romp!
