Showcase Sunday #26

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme held by Books, Biscuits and Tea. It allows fellow bloggers to show off any books or bookish things they've compiled over the week.

You know what pisses me off? Pre-ordering. What's the point of doing it if you're not going to get the books? I had 4 books pre-ordered that came out on the 4th(what book didn't come out on Tuesday?). I have two of them in my possession. And they didn't even get to me on Tuesday. I ended up cancelling my other two and re-ordered them through another store. I don't want to name names *cough*Amazon*cough* but that is not the terms of your pre-order guarantee.
Rant over. On to books.

Purchased

Half Bad(Half Life Trilogy #1) by Sally Green
The Shadow Throne(The Ascendance Trilogy #3) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

E-Books Purchased

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu
The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Won

Fire and Flood(Fire and Flood #1) by Victoria Scott

Netgalley

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown
One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva
The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Just a thought: I wonder how much you make as a cover model? Because that chick on the cover of Torn Away has been on a million covers the last year or so.

As always, let me know what went on this week down below. Or link up your weekly post.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Miniviews # 4: Obsidian, The Lover's Dictionary & Losing It

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publication Date: November 23rd, 2011

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pages: 335

Series: Lux

Source: Purchased

Rating: 4.5/5

This book, this series, is highly gripping and addictive. Yea, it has similarities to Twilight, but holy crap it is just so much better. Katy moves next door to a mysterious brother and sister. And they turn out to be these awesome aliens. And in Daemons case, very hot alien. Katy and Dee start to become pretty close, but Daemon isn't having this. He doesn't trust humans. Katy and Daemons relationship, in turn, is pretty intense. Full of jabs and arguments, but hot. Katy doesn't back down from him and his jackass-ness. She's really feisty(hello Kitten). Get this, she's also a book blogger. I absolutely loved this! The terms and memes and everything that we bloggers do were right there. Awesome! Anyhow, the alien race Armentrout has created is pretty cool. Her characters and character development is near perfect. And the dialogue, especially between Katy and Daemon is spot on and a lot of them time pretty hilarious. Obsidian has it all; action, hot romance, aliens, lovable characters and characters you love to hate. I'm in love!

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

Publication Date: January 1st, 2010

Publisher: Picador

Pages: 211

Source: Purchased

Rating: 4/5

This is a pretty unique book. Told in dictionary format where every page is a different word that follows a couple's relationship. There're no names used and told from the male's POV I thought it might be hard to become invested in the relationship or the couple. But that wasn't the case. I flew through this. Totally invested. This is an adult book, so, of course, the relationship was very mature. And I came to feel really sorry for the guy. He was in love, but I'm so sure his girlfriend was as in love with him. Great, interesting and quick read. 

Losing It by Cora Carmack

Publication Date: October 12th, 2012

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 288

Series: Losing It

Source: Purchased

Rating: 4/5

You know, I totally thought this book would be super cheesy. I mean that title. That cover. Sure it had it's cheesy moments. But in the end, appearances can be deceiving. What I really liked about it was Bliss. She's in college(about to finish) and still a virgin. She feels pressure to just lose it. She's awkward and shy and just a regular girl. She's dealing with college age problems like a regular person would. No one steps in to fix everything for her with a flick of the finger. She gets into a messy situation when she finds our her best friend is in love with her. She doesn't reciprocate those feelings and like in real life it hurts their relationship.

Then she meets what she feels is a pretty perfect guy. Things go far and then the next day she finds out he's one of her TA's. So now there's the student/teacher relationship going down. Of course, they try to stay away But that never works in books. I think Carmack did a really good job at dealing with all the issues Bliss comes to face from her relationship with Garrick. Friends bringing up how she's being favoured. Of course, that leads to uncomfortable conversations. Also Bliss's feelings towards having sex with Garrick. At this point should she ever brother? She's too old, so is she going to be good at it? And so on. Again, I really think Carmack handled Bliss's feelings and the subject matter pretty realistically.  Bliss and Garrick's relationship seemed to grow pretty fast, but now that I think about it, it took place over a 4-5 month period. So I guess it was again pretty realistic. And it is college, so feelings and hormones are still heightened. And Bliss did bring up a pretty good point about love; she was wondering how she was supposed to know if she was actually in love when she didn't even know what she wanted to do with her life. Pretty spot on, though, Bliss. Wished more YA/NA adults had that thinking.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Cover Reveal: Stone Cold Touch(The Dark Elements #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Guys. Guys! You don't even know how excited I am to take part in this cover reveal. I absolutely adore JLA. I am on a binge of her books right now. I just finished my 9th book in about a week. Yea, her writing and stories are THAT addictive.
So she has this new YA series about gargoyles(I know right! Such a different idea). The first book was just released and it is pure awesome. Here check it out first and than I'll do what you're here for; the cover reveal of the highly anticipated sequel.

One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.
Goodreads   Amazon   Barnes and Noble   BAM   iBooks   IndieBound   Kobo   Walmart   Book Depository

So if for some reason you haven't already picked up White Hot Kiss, now would be the perfect time. Because guess what? You can already pre-order Stone Cold Touch. I know I have. I need it in my hands as soon as I can get it.
Let's get to the cover reveal for Stone Cold Touch. I'm excited! Ready?!
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Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…
Goodreads     Amazon       Kobo     BAM

Totally makes you want to pre-order, right?
This series is definitely something new and different. I highly recommend you check it out. It gives you something of everything; romance, paranormal, action, the feels.

Definitely don't forget to check out Jennifer all over the interwebs. She's pretty active on social media. Which I love. Makes you feel connected to your favourite authors.

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.
Twitter  Facebook  website  Goodreads  The Dark Elements Series


I know this made you as excited as I was to share this awesome cover and all the information. Don't forget to share your thoughts below. We can fangirl/guy over everything JLA.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Top 5 Wednesday: Friendships

Top 5 Wednesday is a meme started by Lainey at Ginger Reads Lainey. Find the list of all the #T5WFamily here. 


This weeks topic is:

Top 5 Friendships

5. Juliette and Kenji

Juliette may have annoyed me at many points in this series. And I do love Kenji with all my heart. What I loved about their friendship is they were totally real with each other. Kenji didn't treat J like a fragile crazy person. He told her to get over herself all the time. And she needed the reality check. She needed the friendship he offered her.

4. Rose and Lissa

I feel you don't get a lot of really strong femships in YA. Or when you do, it tends to be full of jealously and caddyness. Rose and Lissa are one the best friendships I've read. Rose would give her life for Lissa. She is fierce and loyal. And Lissa is kind of the more stable one. Keeping Rose grounded when needed.

3. The Hobbits

Aw my lovelies. I guess I could have said the whole Fellowship, but Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry are the real stars. Hobbits are this quite, peaceful race. But sometimes one steps beyond the confines of all their comforts. Frodo may have been "forced" into his role. But not the other three. They were there because of their loyalty and bravery. Those little Hobbits faced so much together. Their bonds just became stronger and stronger.

2. Jem and Will

I don't know how much of an explanation this bromance needs. For me, there is no strong bond than between Jem and Will. I mean they are parabatai. Their souls are pretty much intertwined. They've chosen to lay down their lives for each other(if it comes to it). Will goes to a lot of extremes to keep Jem as healthy as possible for as long as possible. And Jem puts up with Will. They both fall in love with the same girl but no jealously or fighting ensues. They both believe Tessa would be better off with the other.

1. The Trio

Obviously.
There is no ends to which Harry, Ron and Hermione will go for each other. Like Hermione says, her and Ron knew what they were getting into from the start. Nothing would keep them from being with Harry till the end. And beyond.

Remember to use the hashtag #T5WFamily on Twitter to find all the other bloggers and booktubers post for today.
Let me know some of your favourite friendships below. Or link up your T5W post.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Top Ten Tuesday: Popular Authors I've Never Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme held by The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks topic is:

Ten Ten Popular Authors I've Never Read

This list was actually a little hard to come up with this week. I like to think I've read a lot of the modern popular authors. Classic well loved authors on the other hand, there's a lot of them I haven't read. So I guess my list is a mix up of them all. Well really popular authors I think I should have read already.

10. Michael Grant: I do own the whole Gone series and Eve and Adam....sooooo...#bookishproblems
9. Charles Dickens: As much as I don't do classics, I actually think I'd enjoy his work. One day...
8. Phillipa Gregory: Queen of historical fantasy. Both I adore. Why I haven't? Who knows!
7. Andrea Cremer: Nightshade has been on shelves for years. There's no excuse.
6. Abbi Glines: I'm so into NA but I've yet to read one of the queens of the genre. I really need to get on this.
5. Charlotte Bronte/Emily Bronte: More classics I feel I should read. But don't really care to.
4. Tamora Pierce: I feel ashamed that I never read the Alanna series as a kid. But I just bought my first book of hers and I will read it soon.
3. Jane Austen: I don't like classics. I've tried to read P&P before and that was a fail. But I will finish one of her books one day. I must!
2. Brandon Sanderson: He's the king of fantasy and fantasy is my main jam. I have five of his books staring at my daily. I don't have a reason why this hasn't happened yet.
1. George R.R. Martin: (I haven't watch the show yet either) What it comes down to is, I'm scared to start this series. Not because of size or length. But because I don't want to start it, fall in love(I know I will) and he's gone before he's done writing the last book. You know you think about this too.

Let me know your authors or hook up your TTT below.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Showcase Sunday #25

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme held by Books, Biscuits and Tea. It allows fellow bloggers to show off any books or bookish things they've compiled over the week. 

Hey! Guess what? This is going to be a really small haul. I didn't buy any physical books this week. :O I know right. One came in the mail that I ordered a few weeks ago and some e-books. But otherwise I controlled myself. LOL!
But I did get to meet one of my favourite authors on Monday. Fangirled hard. And I fell even more in love with her. She's super sweet. And such a great speaker. She told us the story of Rapunzel. Can you guess who yet? Queen of sci-fi fairytale re-tellings, Marissa Meyer!
                                          

 Purchased

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

E-Books Purchased

Fifty First Times: A New Adult Anthology by various authors
White Hot Kiss(Dark Elements #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Obsession by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Netgalley

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

Let me know what you got down below. Or hook up your weekly haul.

Happy reading!

Brittany

February Wrap Up & March TBR

Hey, suck it February! You may be the shortest month, but God you seem so long with your moody-ness.
As for reading, this month was insane. Read a whole lot of books. And most of them I thoroughly enjoyed. Let's get into it, than my thoughts.

Unravel Me(Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi 4*
Ignite Me(Shatter Me #3) by Tahereh Mafi 5*
The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan 4*
Split Second(Pivot Point #2) by Kasie West 4*
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets(Harry Potter #2) by J.K. Rowling 5*(re-read)
Cress(The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer 5*
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 5*(re-read)
The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan 4*
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen 4*
Wait For You(Wait For You #1) by J.Lynn 5*
White Space(Dark Passages #1) by Ilsa J. bick
Obsidian(Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Into the Still Blue(Under the Never Sky #3) by Veronica Rossi 4*
Fracture Me(Shatter Me #2.5) by Tahereh Mafi 3*

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher 3*
Song of the Fireflies by J.A. Redmerski DNF @ 28%
Proxy(Avalon #0.5) by Mindee Arnett 4*
Frigid(Frigid #1) by J.Lynn 4*
Trust in Me(Wait For You #1.5) by J.Lynn 4*
Be With Me(Wait For You #2) by J.Lynn 4*
Bitter Sweet Love(The Dark Elements #0.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout 4*

Sooooo...finished off a few series this month. One of them being Shatter Me, which is kind of surprising. Since I really, really disliked Shatter Me when I read it last year. But I'm so happy I continued anyways, because the series definitely got much better. Warner <3
As you can probably tell, I also found Jennifer Armentrout. Of course I knew all about her. I'd just yet to read one of her books. And well that's all I did the last week of the month. And I haven't stopped yet. Her books may not be anything fantastic. But they are book crack. I've been cracked out on her books for a week straight and I don't know when I'll stop. Lol. So addictive. Props to you girlfriend!
Favourite of the month(not counting re-reads) was easily Cress. One of the best series out there. So much love. Spoiler for tomorrow's SS, I got to meet Meyer this past week. And that just made me fall even more in love with her.

As for my March TBR(which by the way I did really well on my Feb. TBR), there are a lot more review books I should be reading than I thought I needed to. Ooops...So I do have eight releasing in the next month and a half. I don't want to only read review books, so the plan is to read four or five of them. The Winner's Curse is also on pre-order(sooooo excited for that one). I'm doing a few buddy reads with Samantha over at The Secret Life of a Bookworm (go check her out, we're twins. hahaha). Here's the other books I want to get to.

Let me know how your month went down below.

Happy reading!

Brittany