Stacking the Shelves #83: February 2015 Book Haul Part 1

Happy Valentines Day <3

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend :)

These past couple of weeks have spoiled me with some epic books!
I am so excited for all of my books in today's post -
I did not expect to receive a Meg Cabot book! Nor did I expect the ARC for Everything Everything to be SO beautiful!!! I'm sure that the actual story will be even better than the cover, but still...

I had a bit of a hiccup mid-week; my family has been passing this dreadful stomach virus to one another for a while now. I had the pleasure of being the last person to get hit with it, but unfortunately I was the one who got it the worst and landed in the ER with severe dehydration. It was quite scary. I am so relieved that the hospital staff were so nice and helpful. I was able to come home the same night and proceeded to sleep on and off for about 14 hours. So thankful for having a great support system to let me recuperate peacefully while knowing that my kiddos are in good hands :) I'm feeling much better now, but still feeling a little queasy and weak. Must eat more Jell-O, hee hee...

And, to those of you who celebrate Valentine's day, enjoy!
Please have some extra chocolate for me! I cannot wait to feel better so I can dive into my box of chocolates... and probably my kids boxes too!

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

*ARCs I received for review...
- UNCHANGED (Unremembered #3) (HB) by Jessica Brody from Macmillan

- BECAUSE YOU'LL NEVER MEET ME (ARC) by Leah Thomas from Bloomsbury
- ROYAL WEDDING (The Princess Diaries #11) (ARC) by Meg Cabot from William Morrow
- MY BEST EVERYTHING (HB) by Sarah Tomp from Little Brown for blog tour.

*Books shared with me :)

- EVERYTHING EVERYTHING (ARC) by Nicola Yoon from Dawn of Bang Bang Book Blog

*Books I purchased...

- PETER PAN (Puffin Classic HB) by J.M. Barrie
- PANIC (PB) by Lauren Oliver
- LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD (HB) by Ava Dellaira
- A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES (The School of Good and Evil #2) (signed HB) by Soman Chainani (MG)

* * * 

A few pics from this past week :)

Got crafty earlier this week and made baby boy's first Valentine's :)

My trip to the ER this past Wednesday :( 

My Valentine loves me so much :) 

* * * 

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

Cover Reveal: ALL BROKE DOWN (Rusk University #2) by Cora Carmack (NA)

ALL BROKE DOWN

Rusk University #2

by Cora Carmack

Release date: October 28th, 2014

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (HarperCollins)

Genre: New Adult Romance

Format: Paperback, eBook

SUMMARY

In this second book in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack’s New Adult, Texas-set Rusk University series, which began with All Lined Up, a young woman discovers that you can’t only fight for what you believe in . . . sometimes you have to fight for what you love.

Dylan fights for lost causes. Probably because she used to be one.

Environmental issues, civil rights, corrupt corporations, and politicians—you name it, she’s probably been involved in a protest. When her latest cause lands her in jail overnight, she meets Silas Moore. He’s in for a different kind of fighting. And though he’s arrogant and infuriating, she can’t help being fascinated with him. Yet another lost cause.

Football and trouble are the only things that have ever come naturally to Silas. And it’s trouble that lands him in a cell next to do-gooder Dylan. He’s met girls like her before—fixers, he calls them, desperate to heal the damage and make him into their ideal boyfriend. But he doesn’t think he’s broken, and he definitely doesn’t need a girlfriend trying to change him. Until, that is, his anger issues and rash decisions threaten the only thing he really cares about, his spot on the Rusk University football team. Dylan might just be the perfect girl to help.

Because Silas Moore needs some fixing after all.

BUY LINKS

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes

************************

ALL LINED UP

Rusk University #1

by Cora Carmack

Release date: May 13th, 2014

SUMMARY

In Texas, two things are cherished above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both.

Dallas Cole loathes football. That's what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing field (and the players) in her past.

But life doesn't always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.

Carson McClain is determined to go from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It's obliterated.

Dallas doesn't know Carson is on the team. Carson doesn't know that Dallas is his new coach's daughter.

And neither of them know how to walk away from the attraction they feel.

BUY LINKS
Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Cora Carmack

Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. 
She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). 
She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. 

She is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Losing It series.

Goodreads / Website / Facebook / Twitter

http://www.inkslingerpr.com/

Blog Tour (Review): THE IDEA OF HIM by Holly Peterson (A)

THE IDEA OF HIM

by Holly Peterson

Release date: April 1st, 2014

Published by: William Morrow Paperbacks

Genre: Adult Contemporary Fiction

Format: Paperback, eBook
Format read: Paperback I received from publisher for an honest review.

SUMMARY

Allie Crawford is a once aspiring screenwriter turned successful public relations executive, mother of two young children, and wife of a hotshot magazine editor whose power base spans the worlds of finance, fashion, culture, entertainment, and society. At 34, she finds herself at a crossroads: between the office and her home, her life has become an endless rotation of people pleasing-whether pulling rabbits out of hats for her mogul boss, entertaining advertisers and phony A-listers for her husband's magazine, or making elaborate costumes for children's school plays. At least, that is, until she meets a head turning, traffic stopping beauty at the bar of the famed Four Seasons Grill Room - where many of the novel's players regularly convene - and shortly thereafter finds the same woman and her husband in an apparently compromising position in her own apartment.

And so begins the story of two very different women bound by similar missions - to uncover the crimes and betrayals of various men in their lives and finally put their own interests front and center.

For Allie this ultimately means leaving a husband who is ideal in theory but not in practice, and deciding to risk security for self-fulfillment and a new life on her own. Like so many women, Allie fell for the man she married when she was in her twenties only to realize years later that it wasn't him she fell for as much as it was the idea of him - the idea of a savior who would protect and provide and ferry her from her past into the future. But the guy who seemed so right at the time turned out to be nothing more than a fantasy.

MY REVIEW

I have to admit, I assumed that this book was going to be your typical chick-lit book: clueless girl fell in love with the wrong guy, breaks-up, picks up the pieces and proceeds to have a happily-ever-after. I was so very wrong - and that is a good thing. This book was not what I expected at all, within the first few pages I knew that it was not going to be easy to put it down, the writing is exquisite; I really, really enjoyed its fast paced storyline, the unexpected twists and turns, the realistic characters and the harsh reality of denial...

Allie is a good mom, loyal wife and hard worker. Her world is everyone elses world, and she's been happy doing it all. Or so, she thinks she's happy doing it all. There's history, there have been signs, but she never pays attention to anything bad or negative for too long. For many years all she's done is run away from her past, her heartaches. And she's proud of herself for being able to push it all away and live a happy life... until she catches her husband in the laundry room with a gorgeous 20-something. What is she suppose to think? What do you think?.. You don't think something happened in there, do you? Something did happen in there... but its not entirely what you think, maybe a little...
The mystery, the needing to know who this gorgeous girl is! We soon find out that her name is Jackie, and she knows things - she knows everything about Allie, her family, her finances, mostly her husband. Allie's world is crumbling, but Jackie asks her to hold on for a bit longer, trust her and in the end, she'll be happy that she did. How is Allie suppose to trust someone who has had a relationship with her husband? Who knows things that they shouldn't know? Who is so vague with information but yet so smart and honest? Let the page-turning novel speak for itself - I couldn't read it fast enough!

I must say, as wonderful the story and writing is, it took me a few chapters to get used to these characters - but like in real life, sometimes you have to get to know people in order to understand them. Each character is extremely flawed - a few I completely understood why they were the way that they were. Allie's denial and wanting to stick up for her husband and all the men in her life was annoying at times - but she has her reasons and I could not hold that against her. The author did an outstanding job with letting us into her head with flashbacks and explanations. But, her husband Wade and her boss Murray where undeniably chauvinistic, mean, bossy and so much more. They annoyed me and I just wanted to scream. The author really goes in deep and shows the competitive side to business, and how that can control people's lives. She really outdid herself with the realism of it all! These people do exist and if a character gets under my skin that much, the author did her job! Especially depicting the NYC life, how busy and crass it can all be! There is a lot of swearing and sexual innuendos, you have been warned.

Holly Peterson really understands the difficulties within unique and intense relationships and explores it all in great detail, heart with a splash of humor. This is more than just a beach read - it's a must read!
Go enjoy it now!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Holly Peterson

Holly Peterson is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Manny and the upcoming The Idea of Him. 

She was a Contributing Editor for Newsweek, an Editor-at-Large for Talk magazine and an Emmy Award–winning Producer for ABC News, where she spent more than a decade covering global politics. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, Newsweek, Talk, The Daily Beast, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and numerous other publications.

Goodreads / Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest

Follow the rest of THE IDEA OF HIM tour here!!!

Virtual Author Book Tours

Giveaway: ONE HUNDRED NAMES by Cecelia Ahern (A)

ONE HUNDRED NAMES

by Cecelia Ahern

Paperback release date: May 6th, 2014

Published by: William & Morrow (Harper Collins)

Genre: Adult Contemporary

Format: Hardback, Paperback, eBook

Format read: ARC

SUMMARY

Internationally bestselling author Cecelia Ahern delivers her biggest and most compelling book yet — a tale of secrets, second chances, and the hidden connections that unite our lives.

Scandal has derailed journalist Kitty Logan's career, a setback that is soon compounded by an even more devastating loss. Constance, the woman who taught Kitty everything she knew, is dying. At her mentor's bedside, Kitty asks her, 

"What is the one story you always wanted to write?"

The answer lies in a single sheet of paper buried in Constance's office—a list of one hundred names—with no notes or explanation. But before Kitty can ask her friend, it is too late.

Determined to unlock the mystery and rebuild her own shaky confidence, Kitty throws herself into the investigation, tracking down each of the names on the list and uncovering their connection. Meeting these ordinary people and learning their stories, Kitty begins to piece together an unexpected portrait of Constance's life . . . and starts to understand her own.

You can see my 5-bee review here!!!

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern was born on September 30, 1981 in Dublin, Ireland. She is the daughter of the former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. On 14th December 2009 it was announced that Cecelia had given birth to her first child with partner David Keoghan, a girl named Robin. She was secretly married on 11 June 2010 in County Kildare, Ireland. Her older sister, Georgina Ahern is married to Nicky Byrne of Irish pop group Westlife. Cecelia was a member of the Irish pop group Shimma who finished third in the Irish national for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000. She attended Griffith College Dublin and obtained a degree in Journalism and Media Communications. 

Goodreads / Website / Facebook / Twitter

Excerpt Reveal: ALL LINED UP by Cora Carmack (NA)

ALL LINED UP

Rusk University #1

by Cora Carmack

Expected release date: May 13th, 2014

Publisher: William Morrow & Company (HarperCollins)

Genre: New Adult Romance

Format: Paperback, eBook

SUMMARY

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack follows up her trio of hits—Losing It, Faking It, and Finding It—with this thrilling first novel in an explosive series bursting with the Texas flavor, edge, and steamy romance of Friday Night Lights.

In Texas, two things are cherished above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both.

Dallas Cole loathes football. That's what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing field (and the players) in her past.

But life doesn't always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.

Carson McClain is determined to go from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It's obliterated.

Dallas doesn't know Carson is on the team. Carson doesn't know that Dallas is his new coach's daughter.

And neither of them know how to walk away from the attraction they feel.

PRE-ORDER
Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Excerpt Reveal: All Lined Up by Cora Carmack by WilliamMorrowBooks

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Cora Carmack

Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. 
She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). 
She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. 

She is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Losing It series.

Goodreads / Website / Facebook / Twitter

http://www.inkslingerpr.com/