STACKING THE SHELVES (10)

Hi everyone! Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  I got some terrific books this week--including Ward's newest installment in the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Briggs's latest Mercy Thompson novel.  Doesn't get much better than that ;).

List of Books: Lover At Last by J.R. Ward (it's FINALLY here!)
                        Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
                        Dualed by Elsie Chapman
                        The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
                         Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
                         Dark Triumph by R.L. LaFevers

Got some really awesome books this week.  A couple debuts (which I'm itching to dive into), and everything in my pile looks good.  But for me, it's all about BDB :-).

 

QHUAY!!  Y'all I devoured this one.  I've been waiting forever like everyone else for this pair to finally get their book, and let me tell you: The Warden did not disappoint ;).  No spoilers here; if you wanna know more, you're just going to have to pick it up--or wait for my review lol.  (Note: This is a very adult series, so...yeah.  Not recommended for young readers.)  I truly LOVE the characters in BDB, and the writing, and the romance, and the bad assery, and just...everything.  Review to come, like I said, and excited about all of these great books!

How did you guys make out?  Get anything good?  I hope so :-).

Ninja Girl

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY

Hey there, "Waiting on Wednesday" is a meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine, featuring those books that are just too good, the ones you wish were out. Right. This. Second.
My choice this week is the second in a series.  Just look at that A-mazing cover!!

 

Goodreads summary: Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won't Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a school trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

In this sequel to bestselling author Gail Carriger's YA debut Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail's distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.

Can't wait to read Curtsies & Conspiracies!  And seriously, whoever designs Gail Carriger's book covers/comes up with these awesome titles/found the Keira Knightly-look alike?  Well done, people.  Well done :-).  Have a great week everyone!

Ninja Girl

STEALING PARKER by Miranda Kenneally

Stealing Parker, Miranda Kenneally's second book, was a very enjoyable read.  It had romance, funny times, and the sports bent--which Kenneally writes SO well.  The friends you can't help but love (Sam and Tate and Corndog and Drew!) were there in full force.  And Parker, the main character, is a girl who readers will root for--even when she makes mistakes.

I'm not going to lie.  I was pulled in from page 1.  We immediately find out why Parker is the way that she is, and we also get a taste of her voice.

"I hate baseball.  I know, I know.  That means I'm not a true American.  It probably means I'm not human.  But I gave up foam fingers, peanuts, and the Atlanta Braves when my mom announced she's a lesbian and ran off with her friend who was more than just a friend.  A year ago January, she divorced my dad, and I divorced her dreams of me playing softball for Hundred Oaks."--Stealing Parker, pg. 1

It was an intriguing plot.  Here's this girl whose life is flipped upside down, and she doesn't even have her mother to help her through the hard times because…well, her mom caused it all.  I wanted to see how Parker would deal.  I had to know.

To prove she's not like her mom, Parker becomes the ultimate girly girl.  She quits softball (which she loves) and kisses a whole bunch of guys (which gives her a reputation).  Of course, the small town church folk give her a hard time.  This sucks b/c Parker used to love her church, and she can't even find peace there.  Then her BFF Drew signs her up to manage their baseball team.  Enter Brian Hoffman, the young assistant baseball coach and hottie in that scruffy, older man, gum-chewing baseball player way, and you have a recipe for trouble.

The teacher/student romance is a hard sell for me as a reader.  I mean, I never had a Brian Hoffman at my school.  Trust me.  I would remember.  The coaches were all wayyyy older, like 40s-50s, and kinda mean, and basically jerks, and…yeah.  My teen self did not go all starry-eyed at the sight of their farmer's tans lol. 

But Kenneally's approach was different.  1) Brian was Parker's friend first.  2) Parker was a confused girl looking for something--or someone--to make her feel special.  3) After it got started, Kenneally didn't romanticize the relationship.  Parker learns some cold, hard truths, and I can appreciate that.  Though, I felt so sad for her at times.

On the other hand, I loved Corndog!!  As far as love interests go, this guy was a sweetie pie.  He watched chick flicks with Parker, for goodness sakes.  He looked out for his friends--our MC included--and forgave her when she made a seemingly unforgivable mistake.  *Sigh*

And Drew.  He was such a great BFF.  Sometimes you get the feeling that an author really has a soft spot for her side characters, and this was definitely the case here.  He was funny, fully developed and fun to be around, and he never let Parker down.  Loved him.

Parker made mistakes, but she had a lot of crap to deal with.  In the end, she finally found herself.  Though I liked Jordan more, I enjoyed Parker's story and Kenneally's writing.  Her YA contemporaries always make me laugh.  And that is a definite win!!

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl

TUNE IN TUESDAY: KE$HA AND BOY

 

Hi all! Tune in Tuesday is a GReads meme currently being hosted over at Kate's Tales of Books and Bands.  Sooooo...I gave in.  I finally downloaded one of Ke$ha's songs--couldn't resist the "I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums."  *Sigh*  It's so freaking catchy!  And my second song, Little Numbers by BOY, I got on iTunes for free :-).  Love it!!

 

Hope you have a great week!!

Ninja Girl

THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR by Mindee Arnett

Sixteen-year-old girl/Nightmare must feed on people's dreams to survive.

I believe that's what they call an elevator pitch.  Short, sweet, and more intriguing than all get out.  Paranormal is a very popular genre.  But YA paranormal?  You can go to the bookstore, pop into the teen section, and see how overwhelming it really is.  There are tons of kids with powers, Chosen Ones (Nerd Alert: for me, there's still only Harry J), vamps, witches, mermaids.  You name it; you can find it in YA.

But a Nightmare?  A teen who literally feeds on "fictus" aka the stuff dreams are made of?  Well, not only that, but how they have to feed, like the actual process of perching over someone chest while they sleep?  The plot stood out first and foremost, and when I got to know our heroine and hero I was hooked.

Dusty Everhart (love the nickname btw) is just a teen trying to get through her days at Arkwell Academy--a boarding school for all things magical--until one night when she dream feeds and sees a murder.

The boy whose dreams she's feeding on is none other than Eli Booker.  He's hot.  He's only wearing boxers.  His scorpion tattoo is visible in all its glory.  But what strikes Dusty is the vividness of his dream.  The colors are vibrant.  The smells are spot on.  The scene is chillingly real: A girl has been murdered on school grounds.  And Eli is an ordinary, so how could he have seen Coleville Cemetery to recall it in such detail?

When Eli throws Dusty out of his dream, she is immediately taken in by the magical police force.  They bring her to Coleville Cemetery where she finds out that not only has Eli's dream/nightmare come true.  But she and he are linked in a way neither one could have imagined.

I liked a lot of things about The Nightmare Affair.  Like I said, the sheer originality of a book about a Nightmare was fantastic.  Eli and Dusty find out that they are part of a dream-seer pair (a rare bond between two people where one can see the future by viewing the other's dreams).  Very cool.  Dusty's magic doesn't work on Eli b/c of this bond, and they have to do dream sessions during the week to try and discover the killer.  Awkwardness abounds :-).

"The Will" was interesting b/c it forced magickind not to hurt anyone, magic or otherwise.  Good b/c it keeps everyone in check.  Bad b/c like I said, it's a spell that steals magical folks free will.

I really liked the romance.  Eli and Dusty were a great couple.  Couldn't get enough of them.  Actually, to be honest, I wanted more.  What can I say?  I love me some romance J.  I mean, dream sessions?  Bring on the swoon!  I will say though this was not a case of insta-love, and I did enjoy that.

I thought the tie-in with the King Arthur legend was nicely done, but the ending could've been better.  That was my only real qualm with the book.  I already knew who the bad guy was.  The legend had already been explained, so I just wanted more.  Ninjas are greedy that way. 

Anyway, I really liked Eli's scorpion tattoo, and I enjoyed this book.  Thank you NetGalley!  Great debut, great premise, so many possibilities.  I'll be looking forward to book 2!

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl

TUNE IN TUESDAY: FALLING

 

Hi all! Tune in Tuesday is a GReads meme currently being hosted over at Kate's Tales of Books and Bands.  I love Florence + The Machine!  Doesn't everybody lol?  But the reason I decided to feature this song is b/c it reminds me of Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (currently on page 100 and it's great so far!).

Also, here's a dance vid by one of my favorite choreographers, Kate Jablonski.  If you <3 contemporary on SYTYCD, prepare yourself.  Kate is phenomenal!!  Enjoy :-)

 

Have a great week everyone!

Ninja Girl