Stacking the Shelves #84: February Book Haul Part 2

Hello fellow bookgeeks :)

Hope you all had an awesome week and are having a wonderful weekend :)

At the moment, I have You've Got Mail on repeat - I ADORE this movie so very much! Sometimes I just have to watch it over and over again! It puts me in such a smiley mood; and sometimes that's exactly what I need to do in order to get myself out of a life-slump... I admit, it happens. I'm sure that many of you can relate; life gets a little low and monotonous and we have to do whatever it is to get us moving again... this movie and chocolate chip cookies seem to be working this time around :)

There's a new feature that some amazing book bloggers came up with - called "Have You Seen This?" It's where we get to post/share hard-to-find books in the hopes that others may have them and will be willing to gift/trade them. All of us book hoarders collectors have favorite authors/series where we MUST have every single edition that has ever been made, am I right? I have a few that I'm still looking for... take a peek! And/or maybe you would like to add what you've been looking for too :)

I am participating in Stacking the Shelves, hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews!!!

*What I received for review...

- LOVE FORTUNES AND OTHER DISASTERS (ARC) by Kimberly Karalius (YA) from Swoon Reads (Macmillan).

- DRAGON JELLY (UK HB) by Claire Freedman, Illustrated by Sue Hendra (C) from Bloomsbury.

*Books I received in trades because of "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS?" meme :)

- BEFORE I FALL (ARC and PB) by Lauren Oliver

- THE RAVEN BOYS (PB) by Maggie Stiefvater

- FOREVER (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) (ARC) by Maggie Stiefvater

- BITTERBLUE (Graceling Realm #3) (ARC) by Kristin Cashore

*Books I purchased...

- ALICE IN WONDERLAND (HB) by Lewis Carroll, Illustrated by Camille Rose Garcia

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A few pics from this past week :)

Cousins at play :)

Sleepy boy! Taking all the snuggles I can get!

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Thank you SO much for stopping by today!!!

Don't forget to leave a comment with your link so I can visit you too, please!!!

xoxo

Stacking the Shelves #82: January 2015 Book Haul Part 2

Hello bookish friends!

Raise your hand if you got snow this week!!!
As predicted we got some snow, about 18 1/2 inches, which is kinda a big deal for us, we don't normally get more than 3 inches at a time, so people tend to panic about this, lol!
School was out for 2 days and we were able to enjoy some movies and books... it feels good to have not much to do and no where to be :)

Here are some books that I managed to get this week, no amount of snow can keep the books away!!!

I am participating in Stacking the Shelves, hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews!!!

(Please note, that the majority of my haul is Young Adult. Otherwise, books that aren't will be noted with either (A) for Adult, (NA) for New Adult, (MG) for Middle Grade, and (C) for Childrens books.)

*ARCs I received for review...

From Bloomsbury:
- APPLE AND RAIN by Sarah Crossan

From Macmillan:
- HOW TO SAY I LOVE YOU OUT LOUD by Karole Cozzo (Swoon Reads)
- MOONE BOY: The Blunder Years by Chris O'Dowd and Nick V. Murphy (MG)
- LOST (Shipwreck Island #2) by S.A. Bodeen (MG)
- THE BOOK OF DARES FOR LOST FRIENDS by Jane Kelley (MG)
- SCHOOL FOR SIDEKICKS by Kelly McCullough (MG)
- TRACTOR MAC: New Friend by Billy Steers (C)
- GOOD NIGHT, FIREFLY by Gabriel Alborozo (C)
- YOU'RE A CRAB! A Moody Day Book by Jenny Whitehead (C)
- MY DOG IS THE BEST by Laurie Ann Thompson, Illustrated by Paul Schmid (C)
- BEE DANCE by Rick Chrustowski (C)
- BOATS FOR PAPA by Jessixa Bagley (C)
- WILD FEELINGS by David Milgrim (C)
- THE FUN BOOK OF SCARY STUFF by Emily Jenkins, Illustrated by Hyewon Yum (C)
- CRYBABY by Karen Beaumont, Illustrated by Eugene Yelchin (C)

*What I received from my #OTSPSecretSister, Daphne of Gone Pecan... thank you!!! xo

- THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER (ARC) by Leslye Walton
- The most beautiful necklace/charms - a BEE and my initial :)
- A pad of 12x12 Scrapbooking papers
- Coloring pencils
- Hershey Kisses!!!

*What I received in booktrades...
- THE DREAM THIEVES (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater
- BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE (The Raven Cycle #3) by Maggie Stiefvater

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A few pics from this past week :)

The Macmillan Picture Books we received this week :)

Blizzard of 2015! lol

My January Wrap-Up

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Thank you SO much for stopping by today!!!

Don't forget to leave a comment with your link so I can visit you too, please!!!

xoxo

Blog Tour (Review and Giveaway): SAVE ME by Jenny Elliott (YA)

*My apologies! My SAVE ME blog tour stop was suppose to be posted on Friday, January 16th.
It remained in my drafts going unnoticed.

SAVE ME

by Jenny Elliott

Release date: January 6th, 2015

Published by: Swoon Reads (Macmillan)

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Format: Paperback, eBook

Format reading: ARC from publisher

SUMMARY

Debut-novelist Jenny Elliott’s thrilling romance, chosen by readers, writers, and publishers for the first list in the new Swoon Reads imprint, pours on the tension and danger in an addictive combination that will keep you turning pages!

Something strange is going on in the tiny coastal town of Liberty, Oregon. Cara has never seen a whale swim close enough for her to touch it — let alone knock her into the freezing water. Fortunately, cute newcomer David is there to save her, and the rescue leads to a bond deeper than Cara ever imagined.

But then she learns something about David that changes everything, and Cara is devastated. She turns to her best friend for support, but Rachel has changed. She’s suddenly into witchcraft, and is becoming dangerously obsessed with her new boyfriend...

Cara has lost her best friend, discovered that her soul mate is off limits, and has attracted the attention of a stalker. But she’s not completely alone. Her mysterious, gorgeous new friend Garren is there to support her. 

But is Garren possibly too perfect?

MY REVIEW

A surprising debut filled with a quick paced love story that seems bewitched from the very beginning. A great twist to the paranormal stories that we've come to enjoy; anticipating grand schemes and gestures.

Cara's love for the local whales sends her overboard, and into the arms of David, her rescuer. Their is an instant connection between the two. Determined not to let her bad luck get the best of her, Cara agrees to going out with David... David is handsome, with a lopsided grin. He says all the right things. And the connection she felt with him is still there. This warm bond that encircles them, it's not something that she felt just because of her near-death experience. Cara is beyond excited to finally find someone to be with.
And then she meets Garren.
Garren is stunningly beautiful to look at. He is charming and caring. There is something magnetic about him. Even so, Cara is not attracted to him in that way. They're just friends. And Garren is more than happy to oblige.
Things happen - Cara's best friend Rachel is no longer the sweet, loud, caring girl she used to be. She is always with her boyfriend, as though she has been put in a trance and can't snap out of it.
Also, someone has been following and threatening Cara.
Everything unfolds quickly - we know the who's and what's. It's just a matter of when and where everything will fall into place.
Will Cara and David make it through?


However, as much as I enjoyed SAVE ME, there are a few things that I wish this story would have had:
First, I wish that the story flowed better. It felt choppy at times, like the characters weren't in sync with each other... there wasn't enough details from me, and I craved to know more about everyone. However, the setting was brilliantly done. I could smell the beach waves, the acrid smell of sulfur in the house and feel the whales skin under my own fingers. But it wasn't enough to get me to fully connect to the characters and fully invest myself into caring about what happened to any of them.
Next, the insta-love was too casual for me. I kept waiting for them to build a deeper and more meaningful connection, but it continually stayed on "a warm tether" that connected them together whenever they were near each other. And it was the same sort of binding that was felt when they touched too.
And lastly, the book felt too low-keyed for me. When dealing with so many paranormal facets - witches, demons, angels - I was expecting more than spells and stalking. I do love how the author was able to tie it all together, the storyline was really well done, I just wanted more! At least a 100 pages more. In which I would hope that we would have found out how the whales angst tied in with the story...

This is definitely a book for those of us who are looking for a quick read; those of us that love contemporary stories with a good paranormal twist. 

*An ARC was sent to me from the publisher for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Jenny Elliott

Jenny Elliott is a lifelong resident of Washington State and lives in Spokane with her husband and four kids. 

Writing fiction is her favorite method for avoiding insanity. 

Other avoidance techniques include reading, playing Scrabble, and browsing social media sites.

Goodreads / Website / Facebook / Twitter

SwoonReads.com

Swoon Reads is the crowd-sourced teen romance imprint founded by Jean Feiwel and published under Feiwel and Friends, a division of Macmillan. 

Swoon Reads is a community where members are included in every step of the publishing process, from acquiring manuscripts to choosing cover directions. 

To find out more and discover the best in swoon-worthy novels visit SwoonReads.com.

Review: A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT by Sandy Hall (YA)

A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT

by Sandy Hall

Expected release date: August 26th, 2014

Published by: Swoon Reads (Macmillan)

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Format: Paperback, eBook

Format read: ARC from publisher.

SUMMARY

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common — 

they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. 

Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out.  But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship. 

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together.

MY REVIEW

An author who can bring together 14 different point-of-views to create a well-written realistic story about how two people meet and how they may or may not end up together is a genius! Seriously, I really thought that there would be complications in keeping track of all the different characters. But, each one brought in a different perspective and positive vibe, it was exhilarating. I was so committed into seeing not only how the 2 main characters would fare, but also, getting to know each personality - how they stood out and grabbed my attention, how easily they all kept the story flowing without missing a single minute of what was happening and what they all wanted to happen...

In this book, all of these characters have one thing in common - whether they want to be or not, they are all within the proximity of seeing Gabe and Lea maybe or maybe not getting together, or quite possibly, falling in love? The perspective jumps from each one depending on where Gabe and Lea are - if they're on the bus, we hear what the bus driver thinks and sees; we also hear from the waitress at the diner, the baristas at Starbucks, the squirrel and bench on the school grounds, and of course, from all their friends, classmates and a teacher too. All very unique viewpoints that clearly want Gabe and Lea to come together and succeed in their own way.
Gabe is very shy, and blushes quite easily, which makes all the girls swoon. But often times, he seems distracted and it becomes obvious that something is not right with him. Gabe is struggling with an incident that occurred last semester and he is not ready to deal with it just yet. A part of me wanted to give him a big hug and let him know that things happen and that it will be okay. But another part of me wanted to smack him on the side of the head and tell him to get over it and go get the girl...
It was easy to relate to Lea in so many ways. She's smart and seems to know what she wants, and definitely does not want to play games. Confident, but not conceded; but like most girls, because Gabe is so hesitant and doesn't seem like he's quite interested like everyone says he is, she starts to second guess herself and hopes that Gabe would just take the lead.

And this happens, many times... 

"I want to smack their foreheads together. Maybe that will wake them up. 
How can they both be so blind?"
- Victor, creative writing classmate

Yes Victor - you, a few others and myself wanted to do the same thing to them! However, if the things that kept happening didn't happen, we wouldn't have had this amazing "Gabe and Lea" story. If things are meant to be, they need to take their own course. And it was obvious that Lea and Gabe needed the hot/cold moments to figure things out and eventually talk and finally get to that point where they can be themselves... see the good and the bad. It was so funny to watch everyone around them waiting on the edges of their seats to see how it will all end...

Overall, this is a sweet quick read to enjoy at anytime - while trying to kill some time, getting over a reading slump, or just looking for few good giggles and eyerolls! I adored it and will definitely be rereading it soon.

*An ARC was sent from the publisher for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Sandy Hall

I'm a teen librarian from New Jersey where I was born and raised. 

I have a BA in Communication and a Master of Library and Information Science from Rutgers University. 

When I'm not writing, or teen librarian-ing, I enjoy reading, slot machines, marathoning TV shows, and long scrolls through Tumblr. 

A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT is my first novel.

Goodreads / Twitter / Tumblr