The time has come...

Well folks, the time has come to say good-bye for awhile. I'm not sure when or if we will be back but for now we wanted to say THANK YOU! It has been fun and we appreciate all of you that supported our blog. I'm sure you will still see us around (local author events & social media). We love reading and discussing books and that will never change.

Carrie's Abridged Reviews (13)

Here is another round of abridged reviews, and go...
(as you can see, I took a bit of a break from YA reads and reviewed more adult titles this go around)

Once was Lost by Sara Zarr - 4 hearts

Sara Zarr is so talented you guys. This is such a wonderful book about family, love, hope and most of all faith. After losing my brother, I definitely struggled with some of the exact same feelings and questions that Sam had. I feel that Sara tackled this subject in a very real and tangible way. I highly recommend this one. 

*For an added bonus, Sara Zarr narrates the audio beautifully.

Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas - 4 hearts

This was my first read by Lisa Kleypas and I really enjoyed it. It had a bit of magic in it that reminded me of Sarah Addison Allen's books but this one had much steamier sexytimes. I enjoyed the different character dynamics and I have to say I love a hot geek! If you are a fan of contemporary romance, this one should be right up your alley.

Abide With Me by Sabin Willett - 3 hearts

I’m not really sure what I want to say about Abide with Me. Going in, I knew that it was a retelling of Wuthering Heights and that I was in for a tragic love story. 

I knew the main character was a returning war veteran but I didn’t realize how much the war was going to play a part in this book. As a military brat I was fairly familiar with the military jargon and etc but certain details were a little bothersome since I currently have a family member deployed. I personally devoured this book but I wonder if someone without military ties would feel the same. 

The book was a little hard to follow at first with the shifting perspectives but once I got the hang of it, I was fine. I thought the way the author weaved the characters and plot together to bring the classic into a modern setting was pretty successful. I wanted to root for the characters more though. I definitely did in the beginning and even upon Roy’s initial return from the war but there was something holding me back. I guess I just didn’t totally buy Emma’s reasons for pushing him away.

With all that said though, if you are a fan of Wuthering heights or tortured love stories, I think you should give this one a shot. 

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier –3 hearts                                       

Just a few quick thoughts on this one. I really loved Tracy’s earlier books but I’m not sure what has changed for me but I haven’t been able to really love her new ones. The Last Runaway was a quick read and I found the overall story interesting but I felt a little disconnected from the characters. Maybe it was the writing style or the harshness of the main character. I knew very little about Quakers before starting this book so I found those details fascinating but there was a scene in the book that baffled me. It seemed to me that it would be out of character for one so religious but what do I know. I have to say I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more details concerning the Underground Railroad though.

Strong Enough to Love by Victoria Dahl - 3 hearts

Novellas are always so hard to review. The length of the book makes it hard to get a lot of back story and depth of character. I personally need time to connect with the characters so there is usually a bit of a disconnect for me. Story lines can feel rushed as well. However, I am intrigued enough to check out more books by Victoria though.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn – 4 hearts 

Well Gillian sucked me into her dark mind yet again. She is a master at hooking her reader and taking them for a ride. I had no idea what I was in for. Just when I think I have it figured all out, she throws me for a loop. Her writing is just so dark and gritty and it sticks with you like the climate in her book. Even after finishing it, I can't get this book out of my head.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - 2 hearts

This is one of those classics I figured I needed to read. Well I'm glad I tackled it but I have to admit I wasn't a big fan. Maybe I need to be more bookish but I found the pacing incredibly slow, the story dull and the characters completely frustrating. The character of Anna was such a pill and I didn't feel any sympathy for her whatsoever. I thought there would be a romantic element to the story but I just didn't see it. It had plenty of angst to go around though. And can I just say that I felt the ending was underwhelming. This book makes me feel like I'm missing something. Can someone far smarter than I explain it to me?

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson – 4 hearts 

I don't really want to review this one. Books that deal with the loss of a sibling are deeply personal to me. I do want to share a quote from the book with you though. "I try to fend off the oceanic sadness, but I can't. It's such a colossal effort not to be haunted by what's lost, but to be enchanted by what was. I miss you, I tell her, I can't stand that you're going to miss so much. I don't know how the heart withstands it."

Night Creatures Series Cover Reveal

I've been a huge fan of Marianne de Pierres first book in the Night Creatures series, Burn Bright ever since I read it back in 2011. I never got around to ordering the next two books in the series, Angel Arias and Shine Light from Australia, but thankfully now I don't have to. All 3 books are being published in the U.S. this spring through Amazon as ebooks and paperbacks. Here's a look at their shiny new covers:

Artist Jarek Kubicki has worked out a deal with Marianne to bring his amazing designs to the States. These covers use the same images as the original ones but have different titling and text.

In other Night Creatures news...Artist and musician Yunyu has something she wants to share with fans of the series.

Dear Baby Bats,

Hi, I am Yunyu. Like you, I've enjoyed traversing the dark landscapes of Marianne's world of Night Creatures and Angel Arias was written as a Siren call for the world of Ixion (In our world you may call it a tourist ad)

The best bit about creating the song Angel Arias was the amount of creative freedom that was allowed (Marianne is very cool like that!). So I made a tune that was sort of Middle Eastern meets Euro Rave (Grave sounded like that sort of place in my head!)  Here’s a sneak peek http://youtu.be/Y07iogdHqvQ
So there it be!

I've also created an ongoing series of songs made of twisted fairy tales called TWISTED TALES. The songs can be heard here: yunyu.com.au/video 

Feel free to subscribe to the mailing list for future updates as well. Signups include a FREE MP3 as well.
yunyu.com.au/mailing-list

Enjoy! Till we meet again Baby Bats!
Your Royal Madness
Yunyu

Thanks to Yunyu for sharing her music with us.

Are you excited the Night Creatures series is U.S. Bound?  Glad the covers are staying close to their original ones? Hit up the comments and share your thoughts.

Stalking the Shelves (14): Shannon's Book Haul

Stalking the Shelves is a play on Stacking The Shelves which is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. The meme title so closely matches our blog name that we decided to make a small change to it. Stalking the Shelves is just a fun way to show off the books we've been buying, borrowing and hoarding. LOL

I haven't done a book haul post in a month so don't be alarmed by the size of this week's post. All books shown are ones I bought, borrowed or received between February 17th-March 16th.

 Bought (for my Nook):

 ~The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

 ~Irresistible by Liz Bankes

 ~Waiting for You by Shey Stahl

 Bought (physical copies):

 ~Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

~A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson

~A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson

~Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally

~Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

~The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

~That Scandalous Summer by Meredith Duran

~What Happens in Scotland by Jennifer McQuiston

~One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean

  Bought w/ Random Buzzers Bucks:

 ~Every Day by David Levithan

For Review:

 ~Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

 ~That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard

 Gifted:

~The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise

~Impostor by Jill Hathaway

~Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

*Thanks to HarperTeen, author J.J. Howard, Sara from Through the Looking Glass, Ginger from GReads and my sister Carrie for the books!

Borrowed From the Library:

~Pivot Point by Kasie West

~Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos

~Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

~The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Well that's it for me this go around, as if I needed anymore. I won't be around Easter weekend which means it'll be another 3-4 weeks before I post another haul. Hopefully after the holiday I will be posting every 2 weeks again. I'm most excited about Things I Can't Forget, That Time I Joined the Circus, The Secret Keeper and What Happens in Scotland. What new books are taking up space on your bookshelves?

Bookstalker Wants to Know #11

Does a book's size really determine its readability? I just finished reading book 3 of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and was surprised to hear people say they would like to read them but the size is intimidating. I have heard this said about other series (such as Outlander) as well. So let's talk. Will you skip a book based on its page count?

Shannon:

Just like Carrie, I'm also reading George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and haven't been bothered by the enormous page count of each book. A novel's ability to suck me in with its characters and story is much more important then its size. If I keep hearing positive feedback about a certain book I'll read it regardless of its size, genre or whether its YA or Adult.

Carrie:

Obviously page count isn't an issue for me. I was actually surprised at how addicting the George R.R. Martin series was. As for Outlander, I participated in a read-a-long where we tackled the book so many chapters at a time. I ended up cheating though and couldn't stop reading. If a book hooks me, the number of pages is irrelevant. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top of Our Spring 2013 TBR Lists

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish

~Shannon and I are back with our most anticipated Spring 2013 titles. Choosing just ten was pretty hard though so we each included a bonus adult title. So for your viewing pleasure we eagerly await the following books:

 Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Spring 2013 TBR List

Carrie's Five:

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey - May 7, 2013

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith - May 28, 2013

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith - April 2, 2013

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr - May 7, 2013

Game by Barry Lyga - April 16, 2013

     

*Bonus* Shooting Scars by Karina Halle - May 2013

Shannon's Five:

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt - March 26, 2013
Impostor by Susanne Winnacker - May 23, 2013
Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan - May 7, 2013
Parallel by Lauren Miller - May 14, 2013
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters - April 2, 2013

       

*Bonus* The Witch of Little Italy by Suzanne Palmieri - March 26, 2013

Carrie's Abridged Reviews (12)

Here is another round of abridged reviews, and go...

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin – 5 hearts 

This book was so CRAZY! I never knew what was going to happen next. George packed this book with so many twists and turns that it left me a nervous wreck. I cried, I screamed and my jaw hit the floor. I also have to say Bravo Mr. Martin for taking a character that I loathed and made me feel sympathy for him and then even admiration. Fantastic character development in this one and that ending...HOLY WHAT??

Dune: The Butlerian Jihad by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

My friend Geoff has been pushing me to read this series for awhile now. Science Fiction is a bit out of my comfort zone so I wasn't sure how it would go. Now that I'm finished I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I found some elements confusing, others a bit boring but was pleasantly surprised to find out there was a romantic element as well. However there were several plot lines that upset me and I may be scarred for life now.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple – 4 hearts 

From outsourcing her personal assistant, to crazy PTA moms, Seattle mudslides and a Xanadu reference, this book was quite entertaining and provided plenty of giggles. A quirky and interesting read that I was in desperate need of.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Yeah, I'm not going to rate this book right now. I just finished and I so knew that was going to be how it played out. Lame! I'm officially done with YA for awhile.

*Side note* I have had some time to cool off and read some adult books. I will jump back into YA soon but will definitely be avoiding books that push my trigger button and make She-Hulk come out. 

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff – 4 hearts 

I always like when a book surprises me. At first I wasn't so sure I was going to be able to get into this one. The writing style was unique however I felt like there were lots of elements vying for my attention. With that said though, the pacing was a bit slow. I stuck with it though and by chapter ten I was really fascinated. After that, the pages were easy to turn and the story flowed really well. Lastly, I like when the author keeps my guessing and the mystery isn't obvious to solve. Bravo to that. I am very interested to read more by this author now. 

Side note: I had the opportunity to meet Brenna this past weekend. She is as quirky and unique as her writing. Delightful!