So Many Books, So Little Time

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish . This week's topic:  Top Ten Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With For 24 Hours 1.) Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy- Rose is such a bad ass.  I would love to hang out in her world for a while. 2.) Claire Randall Fraser from Outlander- It would be so awesome to be able to travel back in time! 3.) Makayla Lane from the Fever Series- I would love to fight Unseelie and hang out with Barrons. 4.) Sydney Stone from Bloodlines -Sydney is a smart, cool character.  Her job sounds awesome and she gets to spend time with the Vampire Academy crowd. 5.) Tris Prior from Divergent -I really want to see her world.  The way the society she lives in is split up is so fascinating. 6.) Diana Bishop from A Discovery of Witches- Diana has so much power and it would be neat to be able to know what that feels like. 7.) Doc Jane from Lover Unbound- I'm not going to lie, I only want to be her so ...

Found at http://www.littlewhitelion.com/8927/e-cards/now-that-is-hot/ July is almost over and I can't believe it!!  I am not ready for the school to start again but I am ready for the summer heat to be over.  It has been hotter than blazes here! I know the month isn't quite over but since we are moving onTuesday/Wednesday, I doubt I will finish the book I am reading. July was a decent reading month probably because it was too hot to do anything but stay inside.  I read 10 books and 2 of them were for my challenges.  I have read 77 books so far this year which is pretty good.  I only have 7 more challenge books to read!  Several of them are big books but I think I should be able to finish them before the year is out.  I also FINALLY got caught up on all of my NetGalley books and am going to try to stay away from that site for a while.  I kind of just want to read my challenge books and then any other book I feel...

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews . I picked up a few light reads from the library this week.  Work has been super draining lately and makes me just want to curl up with an easy read. From the Library: To Tame a Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning The Boleyn Wife by Brandy Purdy What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami Have you read any of these?  What books did you get this week?

From Goodreads:  In BROKEN HARBOUR, a ghost estate outside Dublin - half-built, half-inhabited, half-abandoned - two children and their father are dead. The mother is on her way to intensive care. Scorcher Kennedy is given the case because he is the Murder squad’s star detective. At first he and his rookie partner, Richie, think this is a simple one: Pat Spain was a casualty of the recession, so he killed his children, tried to kill his wife Jenny, and finished off with himself. But there are too many inexplicable details and the evidence is pointing in two directions at once. Scorcher’s personal life is tugging for his attention. Seeing the case on the news has sent his sister Dina off the rails again, and she’s resurrecting something that Scorcher thought he had tightly under control: what happened to their family, one summer at Broken Harbour, back when they were children. The neat compartments of his life are breaking down, and the sudden tangle of work and family is putting ...

From Goodreads:  Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and bet...

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews . I only picked up one book this week but that's fine because we are moving!  I am spending a lot of time trying to get stuff packed so that we can move at the end of the month. From the library:  The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth What books did you pick up this week?

From Goodreads:  Photographer Jo Ellen Hathaway thought she'd escaped the house called Sanctuary long ago. She'd spent her lonliest years there, after the sudden, unexplained disappearance of her mother. Yet the sprawling resort off the Georgia coast continues to haunt her dreams. And now, even more haunting are the pictures someone is sending to her: strange close-ups and candids, culminating in the most shocking portrait of all--a photo of her mother...naked, beautiful, and dead. Now Jo must return to the island, and to her bitterly estranged family--and, with the help of one man, learn the truth about her tragic past. But Sanctuary may also be the most dangerous place of all... My Thoughts:  I don't read Nora Robert's books very often but I was looking for nice fluffy read so I picked this up. This was an easy read with a lot of romance and a major creepy factor.  I have been easily freaked out lately and I stayed up late reading this one night and wound up s...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish . This week's topic is:  Top Ten Books for People who Like Vampire Academy I love the Vampire Academy books so I decided to make a list of fun vampire books that I think people who like Vampire Academy might also enjoy. 1.) The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice- These were the first vampire books I ever read so they have a special place in my heart.  Plus, they are really good! 2.) The Black Dagger Brotherhood books by J.R. Ward- Super sexy vampires?  Yes, please! 3.) Dracula by Bram Stoker - This is the original vampire book 4.) The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - This is an incredibly smart vampire book.  I highly recommend it. 5.) Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist - This is probably the scariest vampire book I have read.  Definitely not one to read by yourself late at night. 6.) A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - This is not just a vampire book as t...

From Goodreads:   Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein. My Thoughts:  I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book.  I have seen Frankenstein's monster portrayed on television and in movies but I had no real understanding of what the book would actually be about.  For the first few pages, I was a little bit confused and checked to make sure ...

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews . I picked up two books this week, both of which look really good! From NetGalley: Broken Harbor by Tana French From the Library: The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner Have you read either of these?  What books did you get this week?

From Goodreads:  One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. My Thoughts:  Whoa!  I really expected to be disappointed by this bo...

From Goodreads:  When Kitty Tylney’s best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII’s heart and brings Kitty to court, she’s thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat’s shadow, Kitty’s now caught between two men—the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat’s meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head.  My Thoughts:  I was very surprised by how much I liked this book because I had no idea what to expect when I picked it up.  Gilt is a Tudor era story but is told differently than any other Tudor book I have read.  Even though I know the whole Catherine Howard story, Gilt was unique retelling of it and kept my interest throughout the book.   The narrator is ...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish This week is a freebie so I decided to list the Top Ten Books I Will Finish Before the Year is Over. A lot of these books have been mentioned on previous lists but I am determined to get through them this year. 1.) A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - Someone gave me this book in Fall 2011 and I still haven't read it.  Luckily, it is the July pick for my book club so that motivates me to get to it sooner rather than later. 2.) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - I plan to spend the Fall reading this.  It has been on my shelf far too long. 3.) Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - This is another book that has been on my shelf far too long and needs to be read.  I am sure I will like it, I just have put it towards the bottom of the pile. 4.) 11/22/63 by Stephen King - I couldn't wait for this to come out.  I got it for Christmas and still have not picked it up yet. 5.) The Name of...

From Goodreads:  Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens. Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season. My Thoughts:  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  It has been almost a year since I read A Discovery of Witches and I had forgotten how much I loved it until I picked up Shadow of Night .  This sequel is as good, if not better, than the first book and I flew through it.  Diana ...

 From Goodreads:  Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students--children of the wealthy and powerful--carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought. Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead's breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher. My Thoughts:  Can I just tell you how much I love the Vampire Academy/Bloodlines books?!  ...

Can you believe the year is half over??  It's crazy!  June felt like a really slow reading month but I still managed to read 10 books which puts me at 67 for the year.  I looked at where I stood last year at this time and at the end of June 2011, I had read 101 books!  I have no idea how I did that.  I feel so much busier this year and I don't know why but I definitely feel like I have less time for reading or I am just reading a lot slower. In June I read: 1.) Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok 2.) The Wolves of Andover by Kathleen Kent 3.) The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne 4.) The White Russian by Tom Bradby 5.) Her Highness, the Traitor by Susan Higginbotham 6.) The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly 7.) The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner 8.) Ada, or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov 9.) Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham 10.) The Queen's Pleasure by Brandy Purdy Since we are at the halfway mark for the year, I thought I would take a look at how I am ...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish . This week's topic:  Top Ten Books for People who like Phillipa Gregory I picked Phillipa Gregory because a lot of people really like her books about the Tudors and the Wars of the Roses.  There are a lot of really great books about these two eras that are not written by Gregory and I thought I would showcase some of them here. Fiction:  1.) Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir - I know I talk up this book a lot, but I really love it! 2.) The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham - I recommend any of Higginbotham's books but this one is a little different because it is told from the point of view of the losers of the Wars of the Roses. 3.) The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir - Another great book by Weir.  This book takes place during Elizabeth's younger years before she is queen. 4.) Anything by Anne Easter Smith -Anne Easter Smith's books are told from the Yorkist point of view du...

From Goodreads:  When young Robert Dudley, an earl’s son, meets squire’s daughter Amy Robsart, it is love at first sight. They marry despite parental misgivings, but their passion quickly fades, and the ambitious Dudley returns to court. Swept up in the turmoil of Tudor politics, Dudley is imprisoned in the Tower. Also a prisoner is Dudley’s childhood playmate, the princess Elizabeth. In the shadow of the axe, their passion ignites. When Elizabeth becomes queen, rumors rage that Dudley means to free himself of Amy in order to wed her. And when Amy is found dead in unlikely circumstances, suspicion falls on Dudley—and the Queen… Still hotly debated amongst scholars—was Amy’s death an accident, suicide, or murder?—the fascinating subject matter makes for an enthralling read for fans of historical fiction. My Thoughts:  I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.  I know very little about Robert Dudley and yet this is the second book I have read...

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted by Tynga's Reviews . I only picked up one book this week which is fine with me because I am VERY behind with my reading.  From the Library:  Sanctuary by Nora Roberts I have been reading a lot of serious books lately.  I need some fluffy good fun! What books did you pick up this week?