Letterbox Love #32

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

Book post this week was tiny but SO GOOD. There is no vlog this week, sorry people!      

Received for Review: 

Black Friday by Robert Muchamore

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Yet more goodies from Hodder! I am a huge CHERUB fan so I’m super excited for Black Friday 😀 

Bought:

Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne

Emma Hearts LA by Keris Stainton

Nine Uses for an Ex-Boyfriend by Sarra Manning

         

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile?  I’d love to hear from you! 

Letterbox Love #22

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

Up till yesterday this would’ve been a tiny haul. However, it was payday on Friday so I decided to splurge a little. I visited a nearby shopping centre, only to find that my favourite branch of The Works (Lakeside for you fellow Englanders) is closing down! On the plus side, this means SALE. However, they are moving to a smaller site. Long-term this sucks, as it will mean it will only have a tiny selection of books that will be basically the same as other stores. But anyway, onto my haul. I purchased 14 (I know, oops?!) books at The Works, and paid £12.25. Needless to say, I was a happy bunny. So first, the books I purchase at The Works: 

I have read If I Stay by Gayle Forman but definitely will want to read it again at some point. I’ve seen the film version of He’s Just Not That Into You, but I thought it would be interesting to see what the book is like, written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo.  

I didn’t realize how many Sophie McKenzie books I had picked up! Girl, Missing has been on my to-read pile for a while. The Medusa Project: The Set-Up is the first of a series about kids with abilities, and sounds really interesting. Blood Ransom is the second in a series about clones. 

James Dashner’s The Kill Order is a prequel to the Maze Runner series (first film coming soon). It is actually in my pile of library books, so buying it means I can return the other copy to the library. My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent is a bit paranormal for me, but I remember hearing other bloggers rave about it, so I thought I’d see what the fuss was about. 

Joe Craig’s Jimmy Coates series is one I feel like I should have read years ago. About a teenage assain, it sounds like EXACTLY the kind of the thing I enjoy. So I decided to get one of the books (Power) to push me in the right direction. And then I spotted Sabotage for 25p so, you know. 

Dial L For Loser by Lisi Harrison is part of a collection of books that I have a couple of already. A Midsummer Tights Dream is part of Louise Rennison’s latest series. Although I’ve only read a couple of hers before, they seem perfect for a giggle. I actually spotted Wither by Lauren DeStefano after I had paid for all my goodies. But it was HARDBACK. FOR 75P. I nearly died, and couldn’t resist snapping it up. 

I also bought The Life of Riley and Back to Life by Joanna Nadin as these seem really cute contemporaries, and I’m on a bit of a high with them at the moment. 

I also got some other books elsewhere: 

I picked up two books in Waterstones, both half price. Turf by John Lucas looks really gritty, and will contrast all the contemporaries above! I have already read Between The Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer is a book I read before (AND ADORED). It has just been released in paperback, but it is all in black and white. The hardback has coloured fonts and bea-utiful illustrations. 

I raided the BHF charity shop, and snapped up a copy of …Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers by Louise Rennison as it was virtually unread. Numbers by Rachel Ward is a book I loved and would probably read again at some point. I also picked up a DVD of Two Weeks Notice because, you know, Hugh Grant.

Last but not least, one library book this week! I am really excited to finish Ally Condie’s Matched series with Reached. It will be nice to be able to wrap that one up, as one of the first dystopians I read. 

Phew! I have no idea where I’m going to put all these lovely books. Thankfully, I only received two ebooks this week, and one was a ‘read it now’ download. 

 I haven’t read much by Anne Fine since the days of Crummy Mummy, but her new book Blood Family looks kind of dark and mysterious. Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this. 

 Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess is meant to be a NA with a difference. I’m anxious to see whether it lives up to expectations! Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley. 

 A book that looks amazing in all its geekery is Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil. It has a different cover on Netgalley so I didn’t link the two until I looked on GR, and squealed as this is one of my highly anticipated books. Thanks very much Peachtree Press! 

 

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile?  I’d love to hear from you! 

Letterbox Love #21

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

Welcome to my fortnightly book haul post! I thought I was doing quite well last week with only 3 new books, but I have been a devil this week.   Firstly, I have to say thank you to the lovely Jaime and Louise at Harper Collins. I’m really looking forward to Icons by Margaret Stohl and it is the first in what looks to be a great series. Although both One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern and Revenge Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger were unsolicited, they are perfect for me. In fact, I have already read Revenge Wears Prada and loved it (review to come next week). So a big thank you to these guys for thinking of me. 

Next, I have to squeal about bloggers. Although I haven’t been blogging long, other bloggers have welcomed me into the fray. There is nothing better than being able to share amazing books, and I have been lucky enough to be on the receiving end this week. Thanks to Daphne at Winged Reviews who kindly got me a (signed!!) copy of The Oathbreaker’s Shadow by Amy McCulloch at her launch. I was gutted to miss it, and the book is just so pretty. To Laura of Bookish Treasures, for sending me her copy of Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas. It was very sweet of you to send me this! And to Faye from A Daydreamer’s Thoughts, for lending me her copy of Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud. I have heard wonderful things and now I don’t have to wait. Promise I’ll look after it. Thank you girlies, and know that my bookshelves are always open to you 🙂 

Okay, so I *may* have gone a bit crazy on the buying…. 

Partly, I blame The Works. Y’all know how much I rave about this shop, and this fortnight I bring you yet more goodies. Firstly, a tipoff from Ellie from Curiosity Killed The Bookworm who bought Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger last week. This was a steal, so I had to check it out. While there, I noticed Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire. The second has not long been released, so I added this pair to my collection. 

I picked up a couple of books in the charity shop this week. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas was nominated for lots of awards after its release in 2008, and its a topic I love to read about. Likewise, The Strawberry Picker by Monika Feth sounded really intriguing. I’m very pro thriller YA, so this sounds perfect. I also grabbed Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, because I thought I had to see what the fuss was all about. 

I caved and bought Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff because it has orange pages. Need I say more? In fact, I think more books should have coloured edges. It just looks sooo pretty! My only library book is Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, a book which it feels like I’ve waited forever for! 

Finally, but certainly not leastly, Faking It and Losing It by Cora Carmack! The latter I already owned, but I managed to get it signed on Thursday at her blogger party. I am so thrilled to have met her, and to be able to add these pretties to my collection! I can guarantee they will be well read 🙂

Phew! Now for those Ebooks:

Anyone who knows me will know that I love books about internet love. A Virtual Love by Andrew Blackman sounds a bit more sinister than what I am used to, but intriguing nonetheless! Thanks to Legend Press and Netgalley. 

Pirouette by Robyn Bavati has a really cool cover. I love books about dancing and this sound very much like The Parent Trap, so I’m in! Thanks to Flux and Netgalley for this. 

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? Do you know of any places to find great secondhand books?  I’d love to hear from you! 

Letterbox Love #20

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

This is actualy a 4 week post. I didn’t have time before my holiday to post the haul, and I’ve been away for two weeks! Luckily I haven’t bought a lot of books. I did, however, have masses of books to pick up from my library. For such a small authority (only 16 libraries) they get really great teen books, and I am excited about lots of these. 

First up is You Don’t Know Me by Sophia Bennett. This sounds like a really fun book AND it has blue edges. Win! Kite Spirit by Sita Brahmachari also looks like a good summer read.

There are lots of YA action/thrillers this week, which is something I’m really pleased about. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga is about the son of a serial killer, and Bodyguard: Hostage by Chris Bradford features a 14-year-old professional bodyguard. 

Two books that sound quite sad are Heroic by Phil Earle and Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid. Both these books have gotten good reviews from fellow bloggers, so I’m very excited to read these. 

Shadow Runners by Daniel Blythe looks very similar to Alex Scarrow’s Timeriders series, so it intrigued me as this is a series I love. A book that I’ve had on my ebook shelf for a while is Hysteria by Megan Miranda. I ordered the paperback from my library to push myself to read it! 

Lastly, two adult chick fic books, to lighten the mood from all that hard hitting YA. Both authors I have read before, Country Loving by Cathy Woodman and Happy Families by Janey Fraser are books I will save for when I need a laugh. 

  I also got some books of my own. Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby was a book I ordered way back in Jan/Feb when Bloomsbury had a sale. Unfortunately the publication got delayed and I’ve only just received it! I couldn’t resist a trip to The Works where I snapped up Blood Red Road by Moira Young. I love this series and can’t wait till the third book comes out, which isn’t till 2014, so I will probably need to reread this nearer the release date. Even though I haven’t read Veronica Rossi’s first book yet, I decided to buy the second one, Through the Ever Night, as it is so cheap I didn’t want to miss out and I can always give it away if I don’t enjoy the first. I also picked up The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda as it sounded really cool. Having just looked on Goodreads, I think I may actually already have a copy of it but with a different cover. Damn those cover changes! 

I was lucky enough to win a giveaway for two signed Sarah Dessen books, What Happened to Goodbye and The Truth About Forever. I don’t think I have actually read any of her books, so this will be perfect in getting me started on her collection. Extra special thanks to Winterhaven Books for the giveaway, for signed books and for shipping it all this way for me! Thank you so much. 

 Now for those Ebooks:

I got an invitation to review Nowhere by Jon Robinson from Netgalley and Penguin. Described as a ‘fast-paced conspiracy thriller’ featuring teenagers locked inside a cube, I had to have it. Although the cover looks quite simple, I love the hands in the title! Its like the story is just seeping out the pages. Many thanks for the opportunity to read this 🙂

I love boarding school books, so The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani was a cert for me. Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this.

A book that I have been waiting to come out for ages is Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris. I loved Unravelling (review here), so will try and fit this in soon! And I love the UK cover much more than the US 🙂 Thanks Netgalley and Harper Collins once more.

I couldn’t resist requesting a couple when I got back from holiday (I have no willpower, sue me). I adore the cover of Acid by Emma Pass, and I love action YA so I am really looking forward to this. Thanks for the speedy approval Random House!

It seemed like the whole world was getting proofs of Malorie Blackman’s Noble Conflict and I was itching to see what it was like. So when it popped up on Netgalley there was no hesitation before requesting! Many thanks Random House.

Happy Birthday To Me by Brian Rowe sounds like a funny and intriguing book about a boy who ages a year every day. Thanks to Brian for the Netgalley approval!

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile?  I’d love to hear from you! 

Letterbox Love #18

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

Welcome to my 2-week haul post! 

Lots of library love this week! 5 books I had requested and one I picked up. The Accidental Naturalist by Ben Fogle and Choir by Gareth Malone are both autobiographies, and ordered because I love them both! I have been waiting for Gareth’s book since Christmas, so I am excited to finally be able to read it.

I adore Jodi Picout’s books. They just evoke such emotions, and always talk about issues, which I love in books. The Storyteller promises to be no different, and some people have said it is her best yet.

Lots of people have been receiving proofs of the new book by Tanya Byrne, and I still haven’t read her first! So I thought it was time I changed that. Hence the ordering of Heart-Shaped Bruise.

Last but not least, I picked up a copy of Keeping You a Secret by Julie Peters. This is for the LGBT readathon I am doing, hosted by Faye of A Daydreamer’s Thoughts. It’s a genre I am immensely interested in, but have hardly read anything for! Lookout for lots of LGBT themed posts and reviews in the first weekend of May.

 

I also made a few purchases! Faye did an amazing review of The Secret of Ella and Micha (check it out here) by Jessica Sorensen and so when I saw it in Tesco I snapped it up. I also got The Antenatal Group by Amy Bratley as it was on offer, and I will read anything about babies.

Yet another trip to The Works, yet another bargain book haul. I picked up Someone Else’s Life by Katie Dale as I had seen it about, so I thought it was worth getting. I was delighted to find Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I have never read her books, but I know they are talked about a lot by bloggers. I spent about ten minutes trying to decipher which was the first in the series, and thankfully came home with the right one! Before I Forget by Melissa Hill was thrown in to make up the offer, and sounds like a cute amnesia romance.

My last physical books was gifted from Daphne at Winged Reviews. Her and Faye have been raving about Julie Kagawa’s books to me. I managed to get The Immortal Rules in my last bookshop visit, and so she kindly offered to send me a copy of The Eternity Cure so I don’t have to wait to find out what happens! I am loving The Immortal Rules at the moment, so thanks very much for this 🙂

Ebooks:

 

 

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. I was quite surprised to be approved for this. It sounds like a really good action, dystopian post-apocalyptic kind of novel, which suits my current mood perfectly, so I may be reading this soon!

 

Ink by Amanda Sun has such a pretty cover. I was psyched to get this, as I’ve heard lots of good things so far! Thanks Harlequin and Netgalley.

 

 

 

Books about teenage pregnancy always pique my interest, and Screwed by Laurie Plissner is no different. Thanks to Adams Media and Netgalley for a copy of this.

 

I’m taking part in the blog tour with Itching for Books for Submerged by Nicola Sobon. The first in a dystopian duology, I can’t wait to read this. Check back on May 13th for my review!

 

 

 

Amy from Harper Collins kindly sent me access to Wait For You by Jennifer L Armentrout. It is my first book by her, but I have heard lots of talk about her Lux series, so I’m interested to see what this is like.

 

I’m also part of The Forgotten Ones blog tour by Laura Howard. I love the typography on the title.

 

 

The cover for Find Me by Romily Bernard is just so awesome. And the tagline too! HUGE thank you to Harper Collins and Edelweiss for this, it sounds amazing. I love YA thrillers, and I can’t wait to start this.

I won a copy of Bethany Lopez’s Make It Last from Neyra at Darkest Addictions. I think I have a copy of the second book, so I asked if I could have the first instead of the third, and they kindly obliged!

 

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? I’d love to hear from you! 

Letterbox Love #17

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

Welcome to my 2-week haul post! It’s scary the amount of books I got this week O..O

Firstly, on the 19th I went to a book event for Lauren Oliver, to celebrate the release of her new book Requiem. It was really lovely to hear her talk about her inspiration and how she writes. Although I’m sad the series has ended, I’m really excited to read more things by her. I had a nice catch up with Stacey of The Pretty Books and met Lucy from Choose YA. Special thanks to Faye of A Daydreamer’s Thoughts and Daphne of Winged Reviews for keeping me company in the line! My lovely signed books:

So while in the queue, discussing books (naturally), Faye was gushing about the Eternity Cure, and I said I had never read any of Julie Kagawa’s books. I also haven’t read Divergent yet (I know!), and Faye mentioned that she found a copy in The Works, which for those of you who don’t have one, is basically a discount store where they have books and stationary and things. The books aren’t in any order, which is quite frustrating! So I visited a shopping centre yesterday, and (having already indulged in a couple of books in Waterstones) decided to pop in the Works to check out what they have. Here’s what I came out with:

I think I have a problem! In my defence, the books were 3 for £5, which means each book cost less than £2. At that price, how could I resist?!  

So I managed to find both of Faye’s recommendations; Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. I also picked up a couple of books that I have read before, but wanted for my collection. These were Extras and Specials by Scott Westerfeld and The Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks.

I also picked up some cute looking girly/contemporary YA. They had lots of Sara Shepard’s books, so I decided to get the first, Pretty Little Liars. The Pretty Commitee Strikes Back is actually the 5th in the series by Lisi Harrison, but was all they had so I decided to grab it! The Look by Sophia Bennett has pink edges. Need I say more.  Lucy Lord’s Revelry also looked a lot of fun, so it went in the basket.

The rest from the Works were just YA that I’ve heard about, or seen, and looked good! For that price, I think even if it is an okayish read, it’s worth it. Lots of people are talking about the sequel to Slide by Jill Hathaway, so I’m pleased I found the first one. Likewise with Pure by Julianna Baggott. The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Adorkable by Sarra Manning looked like cute, geeky books, something which I greatly enjoy! Last, but not least, Night School by CJ Daugherty, because I love boarding school books, and When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle, because it sounds like an epic romance, and goodness knows I need more of that in my life!

Blimey. So before this amazing trip I had already popped into Waterstones, where I picked up Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt and Insignia by SJ Kincaid, as part of their Waterstones Teen Shortlist offer. It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini really took my fancy (psychiatric hospitals, yay!) and The Hit by Melvin Burgess was an impulse buy. It sounds amazing and the cover is SHINY. Ironically, I spent more in Waterstones (4 books) than in the Works (15 books). What madness.

Finally, in all the buying bonanza, I picked up one book from the library this fortnight! The Farm by Emily McKay is a vampire dystopian kind of book. I swear it was YA, but my library have shelved it in fantasy. Who knows.

Needless to say, this will keep me going for a good while! I totally blame Faye for making me going in there. And on payday! Recipe for disaster if I ever saw one 😉

And if you think I got off lightly on the ebook front, think again!  

I think someone at Random House must have been clicker-happy this week as I got approved for 4 books from them on Netgalley! Thanks you guys, I was very surprised for all the approvals, and they are all for amazing books, and ones that I really want to read.

Firstly, Itch Rocks by Simon Mayo, the second in his Itch series. I have read the first one, and thought it was a really good middle-grade sciencey actiony book. I have yet to write up my review, but I will try and get it up before I read this one!

Next is Fall Guy by Liz Reinhardt. This is the first in a NA romance series, a genre which I seem to be reading a lot of lately!

 

 

 

Next is a book I got sent an email about, and requested in straight away. Twerp by Mark Goldblatt is a bullying book, and you know how much I love those, so I’m looking forward to seeing how Mark tackles it.

And my last beauty from Random was The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles. This looks like such a cute contemporary, great at the end of a long day or maybe for the beach?

I also got approved for Storm by Evan Angler, thanks to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley. This is the third in a series; I have the second in ebook but unfortunately not the first. However, they all look really good so I will try and get hold of the first so I can start these!

Bloomsbury kindly gave me access to The Academy: Game On by Monica Seles. There is a surge of sports/romance/YA contemporaries at the moment, and this looked really cute. So much pink!

I also got approved on Edelweiss for Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. This has gotten really great reviews so I can’t wait to read it!

Last but certainly not least, Harper Collins gave me a copy of The Edge of Never to review. I have seen LOADS of reviews about this, and finally I get to see what all the fuss is about! It looks very 50 shades to be, but is marketed as NA so we’ll see how it goes!

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? Do you think I have a book-addiction problem? I’d love to hear from you!