Stacking the Shelves #62

 Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tyngs's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your  shelves, may they be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

We love sharing our books with you each week but more importantly we loving see what you add to your shelves. All links added here will take you to goodreads.

 

Bungle's shelves

This week I got 4 fab new books! Firstly I ordered myself a copy of Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, Sally pointed out last week that the blog is mentioned in the acknowledgements by Indigo as are many of our fellow fabulous UK bloggers! I was sent a finished copy of Split Second by Sophie McKenzie, I'm sure I have a proof too. And I also received a proof edition of Allies & Assassins by Justin Somper which looks amazing! This week I received an email after signing up for an ebook while at AAD which was For Your Heart by A.L. Davroe. I won't be showing you the cover I have for this one as I believe there is going to be a reveal mid-September. Looking forward to all my new reads :)

 

 

Sally's shelves

Well what a week I've had! This week Bungle sent me the most amazing parcel from AAD13!  There was a tonne of treats in there from bangles to shot glasses to bags for life to free books!  It totally made my day! Thank you B!

So what books did I get?  I got Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, The Restorer by Amanda Stevens (love the cover!), Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen, The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross and Release me, an adult read by J. Kenner.   I also treated myself to a copy of Origin, #4 in the Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout.  If you haven't had a look at this series so far I thoroughly recommend that you do, it's fantastic!

Genevieve's shelves

Genevieve got a cracking deal on books through Amazon this week so she piled up on the books.  She bought Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde, The Phoenix Charm (Magic Knot Fairies) by Helen Scott Taylor,  The Darkening by Robin T. Popp, Murder at the Painted Lady by Barbara Warren, The Shadow Hunter by Michael Prescott and sorry about this one...Scandal's Mistress (A Novel of Lord Hawkesbury's Players) by C.J. Archer. There's some reading to get on with!

 So, that's what we've been up to!  What have you been buying?

Authors After Dark Savannah 2013 Part 1

Image taken from the Authors After Dark website, designed by Robin Ludwig Design Inc.




First things first, Authors After Dark was amazing!!!!!!!!!! A lot happened in just a few days so I've decided to do a few posts to get all the information across. There are lots of pictures and lots to tell you all.
So our first day in Savannah was our own and we went on a very long walk to see as much as we could. I really wanted to visit Forsyth Park to see the beautiful sights and the fountain and it didn't disappoint. I could honestly live there!

Also that first night we attended the AAD Welcoming Ceremonies and then went to the Blind Date Book Party which was brill. Basically you entered a room one at a time and chose a wrapped book from a table, not only did you get a book you had the chance to win extra prizes. I won :D I got a lovely little note book and pen and a really pretty necklace that is just so me!



Thursday saw the start of the convention and honestly from start to finish it was just brilliant! We attended a Cherry Popping Waffle Party hosted by Torquere Press where we got some fab freebies and met some lovely people. There were panels running throughout the day to attend with your favourite authors discussing their book themes and lots of Q&A.
There was lots of swag to grab but you had to be quick, book people are crazy , in a good way ;)



We attended the Bookie Awards which was great to see the authors getting awards which had been voted for by readers. And later that night we went to the Magical Carnival Inflatables Party. Oh! My! Word! It was a total blast and we laughed so much while not only playing all the carnival games but having several go's on the large inflatable obstacle course.

Friday saw similar things with panels throughout the day but also saw the start for the YA events with readings panels from several YA authors. The first reading I attended was with Jordan, Estep, Souders and Habel. It was fab hearing the authors read their own stories, it really gave the books a different feel. I also attended the readings by Redwine, Wolfe, Miranda and Lindsey which was just as good as the first.

Friday also had the YA chocolate party which was full of games where you could win books and chocolate of course! We also went to a brilliant cowboy hour with several authors including Cat Johnson and the awesome Hildie McQueen who we just adore! And later that night it was the Vampire Dinner and Ball. It was great to see everyone dressed up and after a lovely dinner where we got yet more free books and swag we danced the night away.

Saturday was the full YA day with panels and readings throughout the day as well as readings including more giveaways. I went to some really fab panels and learnt a lot! I met some lovely authors and was really excited to get my books signed, authors are like rock stars to us readers! There was also an ice-cream party on Saturday which as you can imagine was very busy! I also went to the YA Author Promo Pa-loozza where I again got some freebies an met the fabulous Leanna Renee Hieber!

Saturday was also the night of the Elemental Masque Dinner and Ball which again saw everybody dressing up which was just brilliant! (Unfortunately I got a little ill this night and only lasted an hour but later that night felt better and the girls and I went to one of the local bars and had a brilliant night!)

The Sunday morning was the farewell breakfast and winners of the gift baskets were announced. All week you could buy tickets to try and win a gift basket and all money raised went to charity so the girls and I did our bit and on that Sunday morning all three of us won gift baskets! haha!! We already had so much stuff to bring home and the girls won really big baskets but mine was a lovely little one which was the most perfect basket for me given by author Tilly Greene which had a lovely cup and saucer, spoon, AAD t-shirt and bookish goodies.

I think I'll end part one there and in part two tell you a little more about the books, signings and all the lovely authors I met while at AAD. And of course, there'll be more pictures.

 



  

Stacking The Shelves #61

 Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tyngs's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your  shelves, may they be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

We love sharing our books with you each week but more importantly we loving see what you add to your shelves. All links added here will take you to goodreads.

 

Bungles Shelves

So this week the ladies have left the shelves free for me to fill! I believe they have both been very good where as I have lots of books to show you :D So to start with I bought Night School Fracture by C.J. Daugherty, I love these books! I also got a few freebies via iBooks last week which were Young Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud by Andrew Lane, Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz and The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda all books I've wanted so I grabbed them while they were free! Next - everything from Authors After Dark!!!!!!!!!

 

You might have seen me talking about Authors After Dark on twitter and tweeting while I was away, it was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! I met some awesome people and fabulous authors and yes, I got lots of books and swag. I'll be doing an AAD post soon so will tell you all about it but for now the books! I came home with lots, 13 which I'm keeping, 5 are being sent to Sal and one is off to Michelle at Much Loved Books along with swag. My books are:~ The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross, The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart by Leanna Renee Hieber, Firelight by Sophie Jordan, Deception by CJ Redwine, Dearly Departed by Lia Habel, The Talents by Inara Scott, Midnight Frost by Jennifer Estep, Hidden by Sophie Jordan, The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe, Pushing The Limits & Dare You To by Katie McGarry, Miss Minnie and the Brass Pluggit by Sahara Kelly and last but not least Desperate Betrayal by Hildie McQueen. And not forgetting the swag :)

All books  received while at Authors After Dark were either won or part of giveaways other than Firelight & Deception. All the authors I met were amazing but any reviews will be my honest opinion of the book.

 

  

  
  
   
  
 
 



 

 

 So that it my very busy week in books! I think it has been one of the best book weeks I've ever had!! I'm very excited to see what you all got this week! Happy reading everyone :)

 



 

 

Review ~ Awaken ~ Meg Cabot

Title: Awaken

Author: Meg Cabot

Published: July 2nd 2013

By: Scholastic Inc.

Source: netgalley

First line: In school they told us to follow the rules.

Last line: Blink.

So we reach the end (for now) of yet another series.  I've had quite a soft spot for this retelling of Persephone's life in the underworld and have particularly liked her counterpart John who has the darkest exterior and the squidgiest cuteness lurking underneath. But come to the end (for now) we must and I have to say I found Awaken as entertaining as it's two predecessors. 

Awaken picks up pretty much where Underworld left off.  Pierce is the queen of the underworld, John is still it's ruler both are back miles under the soil and this time they seemed to have ended up with an additional two companions - Pierce's cousin Alex who they found dead in a mausoleum and accidentally revived and Pierce's best friend who for all intents and purposes happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Happy families? A no, no, no! Because in Awaken, the lord of the dead ends up, well, dead, and it's up to Pierce to try to piece things back together and to get John back from wherever his body and soul have been banished to.  Believe me it's not a pretty journey...

I have to say I do enjoy the humour that flows through these books.  As ever I think it's the humorous parts that make the tragic parts seem more tragic and you get your fair share of both in Awaken. I think everything is pretty much tied up in this finale and you can walk away with a sense of closure and no questions that rattle you in the night.  As ever I loved John's character.  He's such a mix of good dark and I adore both sides of him equally. I was surprised by Alex who went from kid with a bit of a chip on his shoulder to kid who needs a slap but I guess that's what a near death experience does for you! Kayla was as solid as ever in playing the role of best friend and Pierce just seemed to have the world against her.  I was pleased to see her reaching her potential in the end, particularly as during the course of the book I did wonder if she'd get there.  I did also like Thanatos who brings a whole new level of baddie for the end of the series.

So this has been a series I've enjoyed.  Cabot did state at the end that the gate was always slightly open for a possible return in the future but that it would be a long way away. I wonder what could happen to Pierce and John during all that time. Oh the possibilities!!

4/5 Goodby Pierce and John it's been a blast! If you enjoyed the previous two instalments don't panic this read lives up to your expectations!

Stacking the shelves #60

 Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tyngs's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your  shelves, may they be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

We love sharing our books with you each week but more importantly we loving see what you add to your shelves. All links added here will take you to goodreads.

This week our beloved Bungle has flown the nest and is currently have a fab time at AAD13, the Authors After Dark conference being held in Savannah, Georgia.  B is spending a few days hanging out with some of the best after dark romance writers to walk the planet, lucky tinker.  Can't wait to hear about the vampire ball when she returns! 

Sally's shelves

In the meantime, I do have a few books to add to the shelves this week.  I'm dead excited to have gotten my hands on Fracture, #3 of the Night School series by C.J Daugherty.  Love this series! I also got my hands on a paper copy of Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas.  I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of this book so my 'real' one can stay all unblemished and sparkly on the shelf.  You can see the review for Crown of Midnight here. I also got my hands on a book called The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.  This one is an adult read and the write-up on the back looks pretty cool!  I also got my hands on a review copy of When the world was flat (and we were in love) by from netgalley.  I was completely pulled in by the title of this one. Can't wait to start reading! 

Genevieve's shelves

This week Genevieve caught up on all things female and historical.  She got her hands on The Cousin's War series by Phillipa Gregory.  So the series consists of The White Queen, The Red Queen, The Lady of the Rivers and The Kingmaker's Daughter. We've both been glued to the screen watching the TV adaptation so I'll be interested to see how faithful the TV drama has been to the books. 

So that's it for this week from us - What have you been treating yourself to?