June 2, 2013

Showcase Sunday #3

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits and Tea. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. 


For Review:
Arrow of the Mist by Christina Mercer
I received this as part of the promotional tour organized by Xpresso Blog Tours. I'll admit that what first drew me to this book was that stunning cover. But the story itself sounds fascinating - a Celtic-inspired fantasy world with a journey story. I hope it's as good as it sounds!



Borrowed:
Moonglass by Jessi Kirby 
I picked this up from my library as a Bout of Books read. I really want to read Golden, but my library waited until after it's release day to even put the book in the catalog. So I wanted to bide my time by reading another Kirby book first. I thought it was a good debut, but nothing spectacular. Look for my review later this month!
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson 
I picked this up from my library as a Bout of Books read. So many of my trusted reviewers have praised this book to the heavens and back, so I felt the need to try it out myself. I didn't quite get to it in time for Bout of Books, but I'm hoping to read it very, very soon.

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers 
I picked this up from my library as a Bout of Books read. This is Not a Test was a surprisingly good and addictive read for me, so I was eager to delve into Summers' backlog. I'm not sure that an issue-driven work of contemporary high school fiction will ever be a favorite of mine, but I still quite enjoyed reading this. Look for my review next week!
How to Save a Life by Sarah Zarr 
I picked this up from my library as a Bout of Books read. I've seen quite a few positive reviews of this book, and the recent publication of Zarr's newest book made me realize I had yet to read anything by this author.  I connected to this one on a personal level, which definitely upped my enjoyment of it. Look for my review next week!

Unearthly (Unearthly, #1) by Cynthia Hand
I'll be honest here: paranormal romances really aren't my thing, especially when combined with a love triangle. But after noticing overwhelmingly glowing reviews, I decided to see what all the hype was about. It was entertaining for sure, but nothing incredible or worth its extreme amount of hype, honestly. Look for my review later this month!
Golden by Jessi Kirby

Ahh so, so, so excited to have this in my possession! It was really interesting to see how much Kirby has grown as an author after reading Moonglass only two weeks earlier. I was pretty impressed overall, and think this book does live up to the hype for sure. Look for my review this Friday!
Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3) by Cassandra Clare

I've been on my library wait list since when this book released in March, and now I finally get to read it! Of course I already spoiled myself in learning the most important answer of this trilogy: who ends up with Tessa (I regret nothing). I'm still interested to see for myself how everything goes, however.

In case it isn't obvious, I bought zero books in the past month. There were a couple of close calls, but I ended up staying true to my book-buying rules. Although with Siege and Storm's release in two days, I am going to end up placing a sizable order with my local bookstore for this month.

Let me know what books you've recently acquired!
author image

Amanda

Amanda loves few things better than sitting down with a cup of tea and a book. She frequently stays up far too late, telling herself she just needs to finish one more page. When she's not wrapped up in the stories of others, Amanda works as a children's librarian in a public library.

15 comments:

  1. Golden, How to Save a Life, Cracked Up to Be, and The Sky is Everywhere are some of my favorites. EVER. I love those books to death and can't wait to see what you think of Moonglass since I'm contemplating picking it up. I wasn't a fan of CP2 or Unearthly, but I'm the minority. Looking forward to your thoughts on these! :)

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    1. Oh, I have many thoughts on all of these and I'm eager to post my reviews. For the most part I was very happy with the books in this haul, but there are always exceptions. (You're not alone on your thoughts of Unearthly, for one.)

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  2. I've been dithering about Unearthly ever since it came out years ago; I like a good paranormal romance and I can tolerate love triangles when they're done well, but for this one I'm much more nervous about the angel thing. I'm not a particular fan of stories about angels - I love when authors do original things with it, like Laini Taylor or Sharon Shinn or Sara Douglass, but when they stick to the bible-type of angel I get pretty bored. I couldn't even finish Halo by Alexandra Adornetto - though that might have been for several reasons! Looking forward to hearing what you think and if you'd recommend it.

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    1. I'm pretty much over the paranormal romance genre, although I will admit this took a few unexpected turns, for which I was grateful. Sharon Shinn's angels are my favorite ever, Shannon! They are pretty Bible-based, but they're so fantastic and nuanced and I'm happy there are other Shinn fans out there! :) My review will be posted later this month. I have conflicting thoughts on it; the review it drafted, but I'll need to re-read and re-write it still.

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  3. Unearthly is not too bad! I'm completely team Tucker, but I could handle the love-triangle :) Happy reading!

     Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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    1. I agree it wasn't too bad. I just am not sure if it's great. But I am sure I'll continue with the trilogy anyway! Thanks, Mel!

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  4. Wow Amanda your library has so many amazing and new books in, I wish my library did the same, usually there's a massive waiting list for all the new releases! I really enjoyed Golden and How to Save a Life. I actually need to read Moonglass and more of Courtney Summers books too. I hope you enjoy all your reads! :)

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    1. Yes, it does get many awesome books. :) And I'm checking my holds and looking for new ones to place all the time lol. I'd rather do that and save money, even if I do have to wait in the process. Thanks, Jasprit!

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  5. Yes! I've so been wanting to read more Courtney Summers ever since I finished This Is Not a Test. I feel like she tricked me into reading contemporary, and I loved it. Also been wanting to read some Sara Zarr, and I think when I do How to Save a Life will be my first. There are so many reasons I shouldn't have liked the Unearthly series, but I really did! I was very meh about the last book, but I think that you may be in a better position starting now that the series is complete.

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    1. That's a fantastic way to put it, Heidi! I do want her to write some more zombie books or something though.
      I definitely recommend How to Save a Life - I'll need to read another Zarr book soon!
      As for Unearthly, I will continue with the series, but I'm not sure I can love those books. But that could be the cynic in me wanting to disagree with everyone else. I'll see how the second and third book go!

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  6. Love your books for this week! I haven't even started the Clockwork series but I plan to this year. So many good books. Waiting lists at the library are rough, but kind of like Christmas when you finally get that book.

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    1. You know, that's kind of a great comparison lol. I do get super excited to receive those library emails that my hold is in. And I usually have many holds at a time, so there's the extra excitement of which book has come in. :)

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  7. You have some really great ones here, but Golden is among my favorites this year. By far. Hope you love it!

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    1. Thanks, Asheley! I did really enjoy it. :)

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  8. I am SO excited about your library loans! The Sky is Everywhere is probably my favorite book of all time (def in the top 3), loved Clockwork Princess, Unearthly, and Golden. I have a copy of Moonglass I really want to read soon so I am anxious for your thoughts on that one too:)

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