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.
Blind Sight Through the Eyes of Aniela Dawson (Blind Sight, #1) by Eliabeth Hawthorne
I participated in the blog tour for co-authors Eliabeth Hawthorne and Ermisenda Alvarez, who have published two books featuring similar events as told through two different characters' perspectives. Feel free to check out the guest post(or excerpt) here. I also received a copy of the first book in this duology for participating in their tour. Thanks, ladies!
Shiloh by Helena Sorensen
Helena contacted me with the best, most personal review request email I've ever received, and as I read more about her debut novel, I found myself quite intrigued. She mentioned that she was seeking blogs that review similar books to hers, and, based on the book information she provided and that available on the internet, I have to agree. It's a fantasy about a friendship formed between two boys, and about destiny and perhaps a Chosen One? Sounds like the type of book I would enjoy, so I can't wait to sit down and read this! Thanks, Helena!
Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess
I saw this featured on a few Waiting on Wednesdays and thought it sounded like a fun read (not to mention I feel like I never read any books anymore that I can relate to age-wise and situation-wise), so when I saw this on Netgalley I immediately requested a copy. It was a quick and entertaining read, but ultimately I found myself a little dissatisfied. My review.
Free Audiobooks from AudioSync:
Of Poseidon (Of Poseidon, #1) by Anna Banks
The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
Not much to say about these two, other than they were free and legal audiobook downloads and I have been trying to "read" some audiobooks for a while now. I'm inclined to think I'll enjoy The Raven Boys and dislike Of Poseidon, but I figured I might as well give them a try!
Won:
Diverse Energies anthology
This short story collection was a prize I received for participating in Armchair BEA. When trying to decide what to pick, I realized that this anthology featured stories by many sci fi/fantasy authors that I want to read but haven't gotten around to yet (Cindy Pon, Ursula K. Le Guin, Paolo Bacigalupi, for example). Reading short stories always helps inspire me to write as well, so I'm looking forward to reading some great short stories and hopefully writing some of my own! Thanks to the Lee and Low Books as well as the organizers of Armchair BEA!
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Now, this totally doesn't break my book purchasing rules since I've read and loved The Scorpio Races. Without a doubt it's a story I intend to re-read time and again. And look at how pretty the paperback cover is! Although I never posted my review on the blog since I read it before starting this site, feel free to read my review on Goodreads.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Another beloved story that I waited for the paperback release to purchase. Of course now this means that I'll have to wait for the as yet unpublished Rose Under Fire to be released as a paperback before purchasing that (provided that I love that too, but I'm sure that won't be an issue). My review.
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Excuse me while I go hyperventilate in a corner over the fact that I have the sequel to Shadow and Bone (my review) in my hands and somehow haven't been able to read it yet. Not cool at all. Once I get through a few series and review books, I definitely am taking some quality time to reenter Ravka and catch up on Alina's story.
Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles, #3) by Melina Marchetta
Yay now my collection is complete! I'm planning on re-reading Finnikin of the Rock and then moving on to Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn shortly afterward. It's been far too long since I've been able to binge on a high fantasy series, so I'm glad that the Summer Series Challenge is there to provide me with an opportunity to do so!
Sanctum (Guards of the Shadowlands, #1) by Sarah Fine
I've been eying this book for a while now, especially since the sequel is coming out later this year. The ebook was already relatively cheap, but I was waiting to see if the ebook would ever get any cheaper (I actually have a list on Amazon called "Waiting for Kindle Deal"). And my frugality and patience was rewarded since it went down to $1.99 for a little while.
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1) by Brandon Sanderson
After reading Christina's wonderful review, I knew that I'd have to read this series eventually. It just screams me and everything I love in epic fantasies. I added it to my "Waiting for Kindle Deal" list, although I did plan on taking it out from the library. And lo and behold the price dropped to $2.99 and I bought it immediately because sometimes I have no willpower related to ebook purchases. But I am so sure I'll end up loving this, so I can't wait to read it!
The End Games by T. Michael Martin
This is a clear case where I was simply not the right reader for this book. I thought the idea of a story about video-game loving brothers during a zombie apocalypse was something I could get behind, but that proved not to be the case. Just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean there isn't a target audience out there who would love it, however. My review.
The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1) by Rick Yancey
I...actually think the hype is pretty justified for this book. SciFi/Post-apocalyptic books are not my strong suit and I haven't read too many of them, so any criticisms of unoriginality don't matter to me. What I found in this book was an effective dual POV, good writing, a strong female protagonist, and an interesting concept of an alien invasion. Perhaps the romance isn't the best, but you can't have everything. So. I liked it. I'll post my review later this month.
Dairy Queen, The Off Season, Front and Center (Dairy Queen, #1-3) by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
I've heard good things about this series and decided to binge read it as part of the Summer Series Challenge. And wow did it surpass my expectations. Clever and charming, the first two books of this series are fantastic and at this point I'm nearly done with the third. My reviews will be scattered over the next month and a half.
Charmed Thirds, Fourth Comings, Perfect Fifths (Jessica Darling, #3-5) by Megan McCafferty
I really enjoyed both Sloppy Firsts (my review) and Second Helpings (my review). The Jessica Darling books have been a lot of fun so far, and even though I know some people think they start to get worse by the third or fourth book, I'm hoping I don't feel that way. I also borrowed these for the Summer Series Challenge.
Let me know what books you've recently acquired!
The 5th Wave is one of my absolute faves of the year! S & S was such an amazing sequel, even better than S & B, IMO. Awesome haul! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's what I've heard. Eager to read S&S soon. :) Thanks, Renu!
DeleteOh man, I've been meaning to read Mistborn for years now. I even started it once, but it didn't grab me immediately and I wasn't in the right mood at the time to sit down and read enough to really dig in (I have a feeling when I do I'll really like it). I adore the paperback cover for The Scorpio Races! And I'm a big proponent of purchasing books you've already read and loved. I've been downloading all Sync titles as well, though many of them I'll never get to. I doubt I'd enjoy Of Poseidon either.
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely an issue I have with SFF books. Even though they're my favorites (high fantasy particularly), I have to be in the right mood or else I can't concentrate or enjoy them. I hope you're able to return to Mistborn eventually, Heidi! And I know, right? So gorgeous. It makes me happy - and makes a re-read a necessity.
DeleteI really hope you enjoy The Raven Boys and I love ALL the books you bought - all my faves! I've been meaning to start Mistborn myself soon and can't wait to see what you make of the later Jessica Darling installments. Fantastic haul, Amanda!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Keertana - I hope so too! :)
DeleteWow! What a fantastic book haul, Amanda! I really enjoyed OF POSEIDON, so I hope it works for you, too. I'm looking forward to all your reviews :)
ReplyDeleteI'm your newest follower!
Thank you, Melissa! I'll try not to give myself expectations (good or bad) when reading Of Poseidon, because I really like the idea of a mermaid book. We'll see how it goes.
DeleteAnd it's nice to finally connect. I've been a fan of your blog for quite some time. :)
You have some really great books here. I've enjoyed some of the audiosync books as well and I also picked up the two that you grabbed. There are some coming up that I have my eye on as well. I've also read the first two Jessica Darling books and am hoping to get to the final three soon - they're so much fun. I really need to read Code Name Verity but I'm so intimidated by it because EVERYONE sings the praises of that book SO HIGHLY and I'm just not the hugest fan of historical books - I'm hoping that the book and I mesh well because I plan to try to read it soon! Great book haul. Really, really excellent!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Asheley! I haven't looked at the audiosync list for a while, so I should probably do that and see if there are more I should get.
DeleteI like historical fiction, so I think that did help me get through Code Name Verity. But there are other shining non-historical aspects that make it great, like the characterization and the focus on this fantastic female friendship. You do have to be willing to slog through some heavy descriptions at first, but by the end it's totally worth it. :) I hope you are able to muster up the courage to read it!