#ArmchairBEA Day Three: Giveaways & Literature

Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads

Welcome to Day 3 of Armchair BEA.  Today topic is Literature and there is also a giveaway below so please continue reading!

When I sat down to write about this topic, I very quickly realised I know very little about it!  So first off I googled the term Literary Fiction and according to Wikipedia, Literary Fiction " is a term principally used for certain fictional works that are claimed to hold literary merit." It goes on to say that to be considered literary fiction, works must be "critically acclaimed" or "serious".

This made me a little worried because as mentioned in yesterday's post on Blogger Development & Genre Fiction, these days I read for relaxation and escape so I don't often real serious books or hard subjects etc ( at least not lately) but I studied English in High School and briefly at University so I figure I must have read some at some point.

So my next port of call was to look up some examples of literary fiction with the view I could use this as a jumping off point for my post. My first stop, Goodreads top 100 literary Novels of all time.  This made me smile with relief as many of these books I have most definitely read before :-) As I scrolled through the list, I noticed many classics there and as I kept scrolling i realised that less and less of them I had read.  In total I had read 13 from the list of 100 titles (oops). 

To try and make myself feel better the next thing I looked at was the Goodreads Shelf Modern Literary Fiction thinking maybe I had fared better with that list...Nope! Bearing in mind I only looked at the first couple of pages, this time there was only 1 or 2 on the list I had read.

So concluding that when it comes to literary fiction, I really do have to admit to knowing nothing I figure the best I can do is feature a few books in one or both of these lists that I would like to read one day.  I will admit though most of these I have probably heard of because there has been a movie made of it though I haven't actually seen all of them:

1. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak


I was lucky enough to meet see Marcus Zusak and the Sydney Writers festival about 3 years ago.  Among other things, he spoke about this novel and I have been meaning to read it ever since. Set in germany during World War II, this book has been acclaimed all around the world so definitely is on my list of one day reads.






2. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

This came out as a movie in the last 12 months and both the movie and the book have been critically acclaimed plus I love tigers :-)  So this is on my one day read list.

3. Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Set in the 17th century, this book was made into a movie a number of years ago starring Scarlett Johannsen.  Heard many many good things about this book and plan to get round to reading it one day








4.  American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Author Neil Gaimann has been recommended to me by many many of my friends and this book in particular.  I have even looked at it at the library but never quite gotten round to borrowing it.  Amond the awards this book has won is the Bram stoker Award in 2001 and the Hugo Award for best Novel in 2002







5. The Fault in our Stars by John Green

Everyone I know that has read this novel has recommended it as a must read and this book is still topping lists of bestselling books.  However given the subject matter, I am not sure I am ready to read this just yet. I will read this one day...when I am ready.







So that is my top 5 Literary Fiction novels to read.  In the above widgets are pictures of other novels I have either read or plan to read one day.

Last but not least, the giveaway.  I thought about giving away a work of literary fiction, maybe one of my top 5 then decided to leave it to the winner to decide what they would like to read.  

So open to all entrants that Book Depository delivers to or can receive e-books from Amazon, the winner of this giveaway will win book/s to the value of $10.  Please note that if you choose to receive anything other than a kindle e-book from Amazon then shipping charges will be included as part of the $10.

Just cross your fingers and follow the instructions on the rafflecopter form below :-)

Good Luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

#ArmchairBEA Day 2: Blogger Development & Genre Fiction

Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads

Day 2 of Armchair BEA is here.  How many bloggers did you 'meet' yesterday'? Hopefully you have already started to make some new friends :-)

The first Day 2 topic is Blogger Development When it comes to blogger development, to be honest I haven't given it too much thought or structure.  I would like to think I have developed as a blogger in the 2 or so years that I have been blogging.  Whether it is better written reviews, more reviews, scheduling more posts, gaining more followers.  There are so many different ways to develop as a blogger.

When I think development,  I think more structure, content and aesthetics.  There are of course other aspects of blog development but the above three are what comes to my mind straight off.

The biggest way I currently look at developing as a blogger is the quality of posts .  Depending on how busy life is, I can post anything from 1 post a week to 5-6 in a week but when it is predominantly memes, I have to wonder if I can even call myself a blogger as very little original though has gone in to some of them bar maybe a comment of a sentence or two before a book or the choosing of a certain quote from a book. Don't get me wrong, memes definitely have their place especially when it comes to keeping a blog active and ticking over but even I have to admit there are some patches when I have been remarkably light on reviews and original content.

For me, blog content is definitely something i want to work on.  Whether it be more reviews, or thoughtful posts about bookish or 'other' topics, i am still not sure but it is definitely somethign that is currently percolating in my brain right now.

The other way I still need to develop as a blogger is in my networking with other bloggers, and people of my community.  I do have a couple of local publishers that i now work with but other than that, the only real community networking I do is reviewing books I have borrowed from my local library.  This is definitely an area I need to work on in the future so I definitely will be doing a read around today to get an idea of ways  That i can do this in my community.

The second topic of the day is Genre Fiction.  For me, the genres that most draw me are Paranormal and Urban Fantasy.  What I like about these genres,particularly Urban Fantasy is that way fantasy and real life blend and the reactions of characters in a current setting react to be thrust into a fantasy setting or story where they live (so to speak) and the reactions of those around them.  

For me reading is mostly form of relaxation and escape so I tend to stay away from too many real life or heavy themes and it is the genres above along with regular instalments of fantasy and romance with the occasional contemporary that most combines for the relaxed escape.

That being said, I can be quite an eclectic reader when the mood takes me when I might read one genre or sub genre or subject e.g. werewolves or Angels non stop for a week, a month a few months then suddenly I am completely over that idea and can not bear to read anything with those subjects in them.  

I also love submerging myself in the world of a book and being in someone else's shoes for a while ( see escapism) and if I am deep enough in a book it can be like waking up in a dream

One thing I have to admit to really not getting despite my love of all things paranormal and urban fantasy like is zombies. I love witches, I love vampires and werewolves (in small doses) and angels but for some reason when it comes to zombies, I have absolutely zero interest. I am not saying this to attack or belittle anyone's taste.  I am truly curious as to what is so fascinating about them.  Given out much is out there in the way of zombies at the moment be it in the movies, TV or books ( Walking Dead, Warm Bodies, Alice in Zombieland), I would love to see comments below on why Zombies are awesome :-)

Lastly, since i think I have dribbled on enough, I think the biggest turn on for me in a book is time travel.  For some reason time travel (done well) is like honey to the bee for me.  Some of my most favourite books, movies and tv shows of all time all feature time travel.  The Ancient Future & Chosen series by Traci Harding, the Back to the Future movies and the tv show Quantum Leap & Doctor Who to name a few.  Others are Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park

and The Riddle of the Trumpalar by Judy Bernard-Waite ( Aussie time travel books I loved as  kid), Hourglass by Myra McEntire and a whole host of others that my too tired brain just can't think of right now.  I am not entirely sure exactly what it is about time travel that makes it so fascinating for me.  I think it might be the idea of time loops and paradoxes, meeting famous historical figures and all the other fun struff that goes with it .  

So that's it from me today in the way of genre fiction and blogger development.  If you managed to read all the way down to here, thank you for having the patience to deal with my ramblings and don't forget to let me know you stopped by :-)

Enjoy the rest of Day 2!

Armchair BEA 2013 Day One : Introductions

Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads

Welcome to the first day of ArmchairBEA 2013.  I loved being part of ArmchairBEA last year so am back again for the challenge.  So without more ado, please continue to read and I answer a couple of questions about myself.  I look forward to meeting many of you throughout the week :-)

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 

My name is Nikk.  I am an Aussie blogger who reads mostly YA/NA and some adult predominantly in the

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy/ Fantasy/Supernatural persuasion.  Though i do pick up romances and/or contemporary novels, if I like the look of them.  I first started blogging just over 2 years ago but have only really taken it seriously for the past 14-15 months after the birth of my daughter in 2012.  Middle of the night feeds are the perfect time for reading it seems :-)

I got into blogging as I have always been an avid reader and would love discussing what I was reading with other people who have read it though often i had different reading tastes from some of my friends and I loved the thought of getting reads particularly for authors I really like early as I don't have a lot of patience and hate waiting for the next instalment in a series.  I also read pretty quickly so it was a way to ensure i always had a lot of books ready to read.

2. Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? If you have not previously participated, what drew you to the event? 

I participated in Armchair BEA last year (2012) and really enjoyed it.  Unfortunately it before I understood about scheduling posts so was desperately trying to write each days post on the day it was due to go up and with a nearly 3 month old baby I lasted about 3 days before I fell behind.

Part of the reason I came back was so I could be more organised this year and get a jump on my posts as soon as the topics came out.  Of course that hasn't exactly happened as I have spent the last couple of days interviewing for jobs and generally doing things other than blogging so I am frantically trying to get this post up on the day it is due but I am determined to last the whole week no matter what happens :-P

The main reason I came back is also the same reason I enjoyed it so much last year.  I love just being part of the blogging world, talking to other bloggers and participating in discussion and learning new things.  Being part of Armchair BEA ticks all these boxes.  As bloggers, often we are off doing our own things, reviewing the books we want to read and spending a lot of time drumming up folloowers and readers for our own blogs  so it's nice to do something as a community as well and share that love for books that brought us all to blogging in the first place.

3. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013? 

I am just about the finish The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross (have about 3-4 pages left) then I will start on The Girl in the Clockwork Collar and then The Girl with the Iron Touch (both also by Kady Cross- books 1 & 2).

I read Dare You To by Katie McGarry here last week and absolutely loved it!  You can find the review here.  Along with Boundless by Cynthia Hand, they are probably my favourite reads of 2013 so far :-)


4. What literary location would you most like to visit? Why? 

I have always wanted to visit Wales, particularly the Isle of Mon and King's Men Stones.  These locations are written about in my favourite book of all time, The Ancient Future by Traci Harding.  The ancient Future is a book about time travel, magic, soul mates and creating your own reality and I just want to visit these places to somehow experience this magic for myself.  :-)

There is something magic about locations you have read in books especially if you have an imagination. As a child, my athletics club had their meets in a place called Trumper park  and I had read a book called Riddle of the Trumpalar by Judy Bernard-Waite  about two kids that when trying to save a tree called the Trumper Tree accidentally got absorbed into the tree and ended up back in the days of the convicts. This tree actually existed in Trumper Park and my best friend and I would often play by the tree and try to hug it and go back in time ourselves.  If anything it definitely fired our imaginations  :-)

5. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community?  

My favourite part of the blogging community is taking part in events where we get to share our posts and meet new people, whether it be memes like In My Mailbox or Teaser Tuesday or bigger events such as Armchair BEA and Bloggiesta.  There are always new people to meet and new blogs to discover and new things to learn and it is thorough sharing and visiting other blogs that we really come together as a community.

In My mailbox #64

Welcome to  In My Mailbox, a meme run by originally  The Story Siren and currently by The Modge Podge Bookshelf where each week bloggers post on their blogs the books they have bought, received to review or won in the past week.

To find out more information, get involved yourself or see what's in other bloggers mailboxes this week head over to  The Modge Podge Bookshelf to find out what is in my mailbox this week, keep reading.

Don't forget to comment and post your IMM link or just let me know what's in your mail box this week.

Small week this week.  Concentrated on getting some reading, reviews and posts done rather than acquiring more books to add to my ever growing TBR list.  Don't get me wrong, I have great enjoyment adding to that TBR list as there are so many great titles coming up or out at the moment.  however took this week to concentrate on the list I already have :-)

For Review (via Netgalley)

I read daynight by the same author as part of the blog tour at the beginning of the year and really enjoyed it.  This novella is set in same world and can be read before or after daynight.  Can't wait to read this.

Clean Slate Complex (A daynight story) by Megan Thomason

Goodreads | Amazon

Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Worldwide non-profit and do-gooder organization. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Life(TM). Reality: hidden behind every kind act is a dark agenda designed to gain control and force societal and moral extremes. Currently, the SCI’s pushing Project Liberate, a program to woo the poor and downtrodden into their Clean Slate Complexes—where “everything is provided” from jobs to food, shelter, clothing, and education. Unfortunately, as with all things that sound too good to be true, there’s a catch…

Meet Alexa Knight. Feisty, tough and currently homeless in Los Angeles, Alexa agrees to help the SCI in return for medical care for her sick mother. When she starts to suspect there’s more to the SCI than meets the eye will she believe Adam—the boy who saved her life and the SCI’s biggest champion, or Joshua—the attractive enigma who sings about conspiracy theories and pretends to be someone he’s not?

Full of action, humor, romance, twists and turns, clean slate complex is a companion story to the highly-praised dystopian novel, 'daynight'. It can be enjoyed before or after reading 'daynight'.

Library:

I am a huge Anne Bishop fan so looking forward to reading this first in a new series from her but I think I like the US cover more.

Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop

Goodreads | Book Depository

No one creates realms like New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

So what was in your mailbox this week?

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Title: Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2)
Author: Katie Mcgarry
Published: 1 June 2013
Source: HarlequinTEEN Australia
Reviewed: Sapphireddragon
SapphiredDragon Rating: *****

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry

Goodreads | Book Depository

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

Review: 

There are some novels that you know you are going to love after reading just the first page or two.  Dare You To is one of those novels, and not just because the first novel of this series, Pushing The Limits  by author, Katie McGarry, was one of my favourite reads of 2012.  The voice of this novel captures you from the moment you read the first page of the first chapter.

What I love about Katie McGarry's novels is that she does not sugar coat her stories or her characters. Her story  lines are gritty and her characters real and there are no happy endings for happy endings sake.  The ending of this novel ( and I am not going to tell you what sort of an ending it is, happy or otherwise) stay true to her characters and storyline.  There are terrible situations and hard choices, and deliriously happy moments and devastating ones and they all go together to make this awesome novel.  Some of the outcomes you can see coming, some not so much but it is the journey that is in between is what keeps you reading on, gripped to the story.

However it is not just the storyline that is so good about this novel, it is the characters as well. Beth, we first met in Pushing the Limits and Ryan is a brand new character but right from the beginning I think I loved them both.  What Ms McGarry excels at is making us feel both for and with the characters.  Her writing of them evokes many of the emotions that these characters feel.  You can feel the goodness and strength in Ryan and the rage and sadness in beth when we first meet her in this novel and then we get to experience as well as witness the journey both of these characters go on.

At the end of the day, this is a novels is something you experience as well as read.  You are in the story from beginning  to end regardless of whether you have the book in front of you or not. Being the mother of a fourteen month old, I try not to stay up to late most nights but my attempt at putting down this book overnight failed miserably as I lay in bed thinking about the characters and the story and ended up getting up and reading another 100 pages before attempting to sleep again and I couldn't wait for my daughter's afternoon nap the following day to finish the story.

If you loved Pushing The Limits, then you will absolutely love Dare You To.  Actually I would recommend Dare You To to pretty much everyone.

I give this novel 5 stars!!

Sapphired Dragon xx

On My Wishlist #14

Welcome to On My Wishlist!


On My Wishlist is a meme that was originally created by Book Chick City and is now hosted by Cosy Books where we can showcase (and squee about) books that are on our individual wish lists whether already released or still awaiting publication.


For more information or to get involved yourself, head over to Cosy Books and check it out!


Lastly, don't forget to comment and let me know what books are on your Wishlist this week.

Siege & Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Publication Date: 4 June 2013

Pre-Order:Book Depository

Comment: I read book 1, Shadow & Bone (or The gathering Dark as it was known in Australia) earlier this year and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  So its not really a surprise that I can't wait to read book 2 :-)

What has gone on your Wishlist this week?

Teaser Tuesday #57

Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too muchaway! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My current read is The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa and my two lines are from page 60:

The monster within approved of this plan, urging me to step forward, to attack when he wasn't looking. Yes, It whispered. Do it.

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa 

In Allison Sekemoto's world, there is one one rule left: Blood Calls to blood.
Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire, Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what she finds there will the change the world forever - and possibly end human and vampire existence.

There's a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago - deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries. If Allie can get to him in time...

Purchase: Book Depository

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link  to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

Review: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Title: Masque of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death #1)
Author: Bethany Griffin
Published: 24 April 2014
Source: Library
Reviewed: Sapphireddragon
SapphiredDragon Rating: ****

Masque of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death #1) by Bethany Griffin

Goodreads | Book Depository

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population, and those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery makeup . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club--in the depths of her own despair--Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club, and Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find not just something to live for, but something to fight for--no matter what it costs her.

Review: 

Masque of the Red Death was an intriguing novel to read.  Part steampunk, part dystopian, Masque of the Red Death  takes place in a city,  cut off from pretty much anywhere else and with the majority of its population dead or dying of a plague known as the weeping sickness.  Time in a sense has frozen as life has become all about survival with those wealthy enough to afford masks to keep out the sickness either hide away from society or spend their time partying night after night and the poor doing what they can to survive.  The only thing they have in common is  unhappiness and unrest at their lot and this is about to blow up.

Enter Araby, daughter of the scientist that invented the masks and best friend April, the niece of the prince.  She has had losses of her own and no longer cares for her life spending every night partying and taking substances that leave her numb or insensible.  Without meaning to, Araby somehow finds herself in the middle of the unrest and being forced to make a choice between, her family, love and life.

I felt the numbness and apathy of Araby and the beginning of this novel and this was reflected in the way I at first felt about the story.  I didn't seem to think I cared but found myself moving onwards anyhow and somehow without even realising it, became involved in the story following it to the end.  Full of action, and fraught tension and intrigue, Ms Griffin's writing had me feeling almost everything Araby felt and caught up in the action from the palpable fear to the distrust of anyone and everyone, questioning everyone's motives.

I went in to this novel reasonably blind and I think that helped because I had absolutely no idea where the story would take me and could thus enjoy all aspects of the novel rather than waiting impatiently as it got to where I knew it was going to go.

I got a little lost towards the end when a lot of action all happens at once.  I eventually found my way and enjoyed how it finished but this did take away just a little bit from my overall enjoyment.

I am now off to read book 2, Dance of the Red Death. :-)

I give this novel 4 stars

Sapphired Dragon xx

In My mailbox #63

Welcome to  In My Mailbox, a meme run by The Story Siren where each week over 200 bloggers post on their blogs the books they have bought, received to review or won in the past week.

To find out more information, get involved yourself or see what's in other bloggers mailboxes this week head over to The Story Siren or to find out what is in my mailbox this week, keep reading.

Don't forget to comment and post your IMM link or just let me know what's in your mail box this week.

Been a bit quiet blogwise these last couple of weeks. My daughter and I were laid with nasty colds for a week or so then just life in general has been busy but back into it this week both with reading and blogging and scored some great titles this week :-)

For Review (via Edelweiss)

Extremely excited to get this e-arc!  Trying very hard not to read the blurb as I am still only half way through Masque of the Red Death but isn't the cover absolutely gorgeous?

Dance of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death #2)  by Bethany Griffin

Goodreads | Book Depository

Bethany Griffin continues the journey of Araby Worth in Dance of the Red Death—the sequel to her teen novel Masque of the Red Death.

In Dance of the Red Death, Araby’s world is in shambles—betrayal, death, disease, and evil forces surround her. She has no one to trust. But she finds herself and discovers that she will fight for the people she loves, and for her city.

Her revenge will take place at the menacing masked ball, though it could destroy her and everyone she loves…or it could turn her into a hero.

With a nod to Edgar Allan Poe, Bethany Griffin concludes her tragic and mysterious Red Death series with a heroine that young adult readers will never forget.

For Review (via Netgalley)

Reaper's Novice (Soul Collector #1) by Cecilia Robert

Goodreads | Amazon

**Reaper's Novice was previously published as a short story installment. It will be released in January 2013 as full length novel.**

17- year- old Ana Maria Tei’s life has always been perfect: loving parents, good grades, and a future so bright it outshone the sun. But now words like “separation” and “divorce” are sending her world plummeting to hell. Determined to keep her family intact, Ana plans a family-bonding trip from Vienna to Tuscany. Except fate has other plans. Ana’s parents and siblings are killed in a car accident on their way to pick Ana up from school.

Enter Grim, aka Ernest. He promises to relinquish the four souls if Ana agrees to trade her soul for theirs and serve a lifetime as his novice. In order for Ana to graduate from her Reaper’s Novice station to a Soul Collector graduate, Grim puts her to test. To her horror, she finds out becoming a Reaper’s Novice didn’t happen by chance. It was preordained, and she is forced to make a choice: save her family’s souls or come to terms with who she really is and complete the task set for her.

Witch Wraith (Dark Legacy of Shannara #3) by Terry Brooks

Goodreads | Book Depository

From New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks comes the final thrilling novel in a brand-new trilogy—The Dark Legacy of Shannara!

For centuries the Four Lands enjoyed freedom from its demon-haunted past, protected by magic-enhanced borders from the dark dimension known as the Forbidding and the profound evil imprisoned there. But now the unthinkable is happening: The ancient wards securing the barrier between order and mayhem have begun to erode—and generations of bloodthirsty, monstrous creatures, fueled by a rage thousands of years in the making, are poised to spill forth, seeking revenge for what was done to them.

Young Elf Arling Elessedil possesses the enchanted means to close the breach and once more seal the denizens of the Forbidding in their prison. But when she falls into the hands of the powerful Federation’s diabolical Prime Minister, her efforts may be doomed. Only her determined sister, Aphen, who bears the Elfstones and commands their magic, has any hope of saving Arling from the hideous fate her captor has in store.

Meanwhile, Railing Ohmsford—desperate to save his imprisoned brother—seeks to discover if his famed but ill-fated ancestor Grianne is still alive and willing to help him save the world . . . no matter the odds or the consequences.

Terminated (Revivalist #3) by Rachel Caine

Goodreads | Book Depository

In New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine’s latest Revivalist novel, Bryn Davis’s problems quickly turn from dead to worse…

Already addicted to the pharmaceutical drug that keeps her body from decomposing, Bryn has to stop a secretive group of rich and powerful investors from eliminating the existing Returné addicts altogether. To ensure their plan to launch a new, military-grade strain of nanotech, the investors’ undead assassin—who just happens to be the ex-wife of Bryn’s lover Patrick—is on the hunt for anyone that stands in their way.

And while Bryn’s allies aren’t about to go down without a fight, the secret she’s been keeping threatens to put those closest to her in even more danger. Poised to become a monster that her own side—and her own lover—will have to trap and kill, Bryn needs to find the cure to have any hope of preserving the lives of her friends, and her own dwindling humanity…

Purchased (Print Book)

This arrived in the mail on Friday.  Can't wait to read it! :-)

The Elite (The Selection #2) by Kiera Cass

Goodreads | Book Depository

The hotly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestsellerThe Selection.

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

Purchased (E-book)

Got this on Amazon for just $0.99!  What a steal :-)

The Forgotten Ones (The Danaan Trilogy #1) by Laura Howard

Goodreads | Amazon

Allison O'Malley's plan is to go to grad school so she can get a good job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She has carefully closed herself off from everything else, including a relationship with Ethan, who she's been in love with for as long as she can remember.

What is definitely not part of the plan is the return of her long-lost father, who claims he can bring Allison's mother back from the dark place her mind has gone. Allison doesn't trust her father, so why would she believe his stories about a long forgotten Irish people, the Tuatha de Danaan? But truths have a way of revealing themselves. Secrets will eventually surface. And Allison must learn to set aside her plan and work with her father if there is even a small chance it could restore her mother's sanity.



I recently received The Girl with the Iron Touch to review.  This is book two of the Steampunk Chronicles  

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles #2) by Kady Cross

Goodreads | Book Depository

In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling - or dangerous. 

Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves. 

One false move from Jasper and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens. And tightens.

So what was in your mailbox this week?