manda-rae's Haul

Stacking the Shelves consists of books we received in the last week, hosted by Tynga's reviews.

Alas, I am working today.  And what a long work week it has been.  Too bad I'm not at home reading right now.  But that's what my evening's for, right?

For Review (e-edition):

First Frost by Liz DeJesus

Amazon | Goodreads

So, covers usually always bring me to a book.  I must admit, I love beautiful covers.  But I didn't realize how beautiful this cover was until I enlarged the viewing.  Can you see the girl in it?  Yeah, I missed it the first time.  Which means I totally love it now.  Thanks goes to Liz DeJesus for providing me a review copy.


manda-rae's Past Week

Reviews:

• Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine

Memes:

• Waiting on Wednesday: If I Should Die by Amy Plum

Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine

Genre:  YA Urban Fantasy

Morganville Vampires Series, Book 13

Rachel Caine's website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Note:  I highly recommend you read the earlier books before reading anything further.  While I don't spoil specific plots, the description is built from previous books and will spoil those.

Description (taken from Goodreads):

For years, the human and vampire residents of Morganville, Texas, have managed to co-exist in peace. But now that the threat to the vampires has been defeated, the human residents are learning that the gravest danger they face is the enemy within…

Thanks to the eradication of the parasitic creatures known as the draug, the vampires of Morganville have been freed of their usual constraints. With the vampires indulging their every whim, the town’s human population is determined to hold on to their lives by taking up arms. But college student Claire Danvers isn’t about to take sides, considering she has ties to both the humans and the vampires.

To make matters worse, a television show comes to Morganville looking for ghosts, just as vampire and human politics collide. Now, Claire and her friends have to figure out how to keep the peace without ending up on the nightly news… or worse.

So, my favorite book in this series happened two books ago.  And it seems like these books can't trump that one.  So, I'm wondering if this series is just going down for me.  Boo, I really did enjoy the beginnings of this series.

Anywho, we're in Morganville, Texas.  Welcome to the dry heat and hold onto your blood.  It's a city where vampires and humans coexist.  And after fighting the draug and winning, it seems like vampires aren't ready to go back to 'sharing' the town.  It always makes me laugh that humans actually have a chance against vampires.  Well, the humans of Morganville grew up fighting (otherwise, they would have been food).

I feel like I could have read the last 100 pages of this book and been none the wiser.  There wasn't much of a climax for me.  And the relationships were played really well.  We all know I'm not the biggest Shane fan out there; I much prefer Myrnin.

So...  Here's to hoping the next one is better.

Challenges:  Paranormal Reading Challenge

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post hosted by Breaking the Spine, and it spotlights upcoming books that we as readers are anxiously awaiting...

If I Should Die by Amy Plum
Genre:  YA Paranormal Romance
Revenants Series, Book 3
Amy Plum's website
Expected publication date:  May 7, 2013
Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Goodreads):

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

Out of all the covers in this series, this one is the most striking to me.  I mean, it's a sunset for crying out loud.  And speaking of crying, I read the second book while camping last year.  I literally felt my heart break into multiple pieces, and unfortunately, my husband got to witness this event.

manda-rae's Haul

Stacking the Shelves consists of books we received in the last week, hosted by Tynga's reviews.

The sun's been out this weekend and we're actually hitting the sixties.  Needless to say, I'm in shorts and playing around outside.  Later today, I'll probably be outside with a book sunbathing.  Happy Saturday!

Purchased:

• Nightingale by David Farland (signed)
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• So there was a book bomb to help support this author's son who was in a terrible accident.  Since it's YA Fantasy, I thought I'd try it out.  I'll have to let you know how I like it in the next few months.

From the Library:

• Fragments by Dan Wells
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• My first impressions of this book was, holy cow, this book is huge!  And now I'm going to read it.
• The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• The first book in this series involved ghosts and Jack the Ripper.  It was awesome.  So I'm really crossing my fingers that this one will be good as well.
• Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• So I vaguely recall the last book in this series just being alright.  As with most series, the plots tend to diminish a little bit and become boring.  So I'm crossing my fingers that this one will pick right up and be awesome.

manda-rae's Past Two Weeks

Reviews:

• Asunder by Jodi Meadows
• Mind Games by Kiertsen White
• City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster
• Bones Buried in the Dirt by David S Atkinson

Bones Buried in the Dirt by David S Atkinson

Genre:  Adult Coming of Age Short Stories

David S Atkinson's website

Amazon | Goodreads

Description (taken from review inquiry):

The stories of Bones Buried in the Dirt act together to present the young life a boy named Peter. Ranging from Peter at ages four to twelve, the stories focus on the moments in childhood that get buried in the mind but are never fully absorbed, the ones that are always remembered and shape identity.

Unlike most coming of age tales, this novel in story form never brings Peter forward into adulthood. Rather, though the stories are reflective, the distance is short. Thus, instead of a story about how an adult became who they are, the result is a becoming–a sonar picture of the person Peter will be.

Reading the short stories from Peter's childhood kind of make you think of your own childhood.  What we did as kids trying to pretend we were 'grown up' and not really understanding it.  Watching an innocent kid acting out very adult things.

In this story, we get to see little snippets from Peter's life and watch how he reacts to things and tries to comprehend what's going on.  We get to see the mistakes his parents make while trying to teach him life lessons.  We watch the kids tease others and try to avoid playing with them; I remember those moments in my childhood.  Kind of makes you think kids are a little cruel, right?  We get to watch young-kid love happen even though there's very little comprehension as to what love really means.  And then we watch some catastrophic events occur and realize that kids just don't understand the consequences of their choices.

I thought these stories were a 'back-in-time' read.  They made me think of my own childhood and all of the horrible things I did as a kid.  All the things I tried to understand but didn't.  However, I kind of wish we could have seen Peter as an adult.  How did these events in his life shape him as an adult?  Guess we'll just have to make some assumptions as to how he turned out.

A good short read that I think others will enjoy.  It makes you step back and think about all the stuff you appreciate in life.  I'd recommend it to those looking to step out of a comfort zone and read something refreshing.

Thanks goes to David S Atkinson for providing me a review copy.