Top Ten Tuesday: 2014 Debuts I'm Excited For

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic that the participants come up with a top ten list for.

This week is about the 2014 by new authors that we're excited for

Hm... while trying to come up with titles for this list I realized that most of the books on my not-out-yet shelf are sequels or other books by established authors and that I'm lacking in the debut department. So I definitely have to check out some of you guys' lists to stock up on new names ;)
Not all of my picks have covers yet - just thought I'd mention that so that you don't think I forgot to include them.


Cruel Beauty, by Rosamund Hodge
This is a retelling that mixes Beauty and the Beast with Greek mythology. I've already read it and it's amazing!!!

Half Bad, by Sally Green
I love characters stuck inbetween two states/groups of people. So of course I want this one.

The Murder Complex, by Lindsay Cummings
I've followed this author on twitter for about 2 years and it's really cool that her book is coming out now! The world (murder rate = higher than birth rate) sounds futuristic and noir, and there's assassins. What's not to like? From a reading POV only, obviously.


Alienated, by Melissa Landers
Alien Exchange student? Not heard that one yet. Also, I've read a couple early reviews and they were positive.

Of Breakable Things, by A. Lynden Rolland
I discovered this one looking for books to include, and the world sounds really interesting! Also, the mention of banshees insures that I want to read it ;)

Stolen Songbird, by Danielle L. Jensen
I usually stay away from anything mentioning the word 'prophesy', but I'm intrigued by the fact that there are trolls here (never read anything that really focused on them) and by the whole political aspect.


Camelot Burning, by Kathryn Rose
Camelot lore blended with some steampunk and a female apprentice of Merlin's? Yes please. Though... why does Morgan always have to be the evil one? *sigh* Still, this one sounds like it has awesome world building and is a new take on the whole Camelot thing.

Crown of Ice, by Vicky L. Weavil
Alright, this sound amazing! It's inspired by Andersen's The Snow Queen and it features a heroine that also sounds a bit like a villain - willing to do whatever it takes, no matter the cost. The interactions between her and the male MC she kidnaps to help her should be very interesting. I really hope this one delivers.

All That Glows, by Ryan Graudin
Fairies and  a whole magic London underworld - I'm in. And  I have an ARC, so yay ^^

Snow Like Ashes, by Sara Raasch
The description for this one is still really short/vague but I'm keeping an eye out because of that title.

This weeks was really unusual insofar that it was hard to come up with 10 titles, when usually the difficult thing is limiting myself!
What 2014 debuts did you pick, and what do you think of mine?

Stacking the Shelves: Unhinged Goblins Hitchhiking in the Dark

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to showcase all the books we got in the past week. Those can be bought, won, gifted, for review, borrowed, print or ebooks... no matter, just share what you got :)


Hey guys :) Once more I've left out a week of my haul, so this one's a bit bigger. Also, I'm in Belgium at the moment so I will be a bit slow responding to comments. I'll get back to everyone on Monday though! Returning all the comments is part of my blogger resolutions for 2014.


For review from Netgalley

Goblins, by Melanie Tushmore


For review / gifted

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
Gretel and the Dark, by Eliza Granville

This is my FIRST EVER ARC that I got in print and wasn't from a giveaway! Thank you soooo much, Penguin UK!! :D

The Hitchhiker's guide was a late Christmas present from a new friend :)

Bought in print

The Essence, by Kimberly Derting

Unhinged, by A.G. Howard

Totenbraut, by Nina Blazon

I've wanted The Essence and Unhinged for about a year now, so I can't wait to get reading! :D Totenbraut was a spontaneous buy, there's this store that is closing so there's a huge sale going on and even though it's a big ass hardcover it was pretty cheap. Plus, I read something by Blazon about ten years ago and remember really liking it. I'ts a historical set in 18th century Serbia and there's vampires. Goodreads doesn't show me an English edition unfortunately but it's available in French and Italian.

Bought as ebooks

The Pirate's Wish, by Cassandra Rose Clarke
When We Collide, by A.L. Jackson

After reading The Assassin's Curse, I had to have the next book immediately! I've already read and enjoyed it :) Kind of sad that the story is over now :(
When We Collide is one I had on my wishlist for a while, and this week it was on sale for 99 cents! Mine has a different cover than the one above though, which unfortunately wasn't on GR.


That's it! What do you guys think? Have you read any of them? And what's new on your shelves?

Discussion: Book Nervousness

Hello dear people who read my blog and welcome back to another bookish discussion! In case you haven't noticed yet, there's now a page (link below the header) where there's a link list to all the discussions I've done in the past. You know, if you want to browse.

Anyway, today I'd like to talk about this weird sort of nervousness or trepidation that is sometimes part of cracking open that next book. Or settling on the book. Taking the leap. Bracing yourself to fall into a new story, a new life, a new world.

I don't get this nervousness with every book. Sometimes I just feel like reading it, crack it open, am sucked in immediately and feel comfortable. Other times, I'm almost a bit afraid. What if I don't like it? What if I'm left trying to swim in the deep end because I'm thrown into a strange world where I don't know the rules yet? What if I don't like this book? If it's a review book, will not liking it make me feel guilty?

With series, I tend to get it more often. I read the first book and I immediately want need must have the sequel. A year later, it's out. Maybe I buy it immediately. Maybe not. Even if I buy it, it might end up on my shelf for a few weeks, never mind how much I had to have it right this instant. What if it's not as great as the first/last book? What if I've built up the first book in my head and it wasn't all that awesome? What if I don't remember what happened at the end because I've read a few dozen or even a hundred other books since? What if I don't remember the freaking characters' names and who's who? That's why I often re-read the second half of the previous book before going into the next one.

There are also times when I feel like my own contrary nature is keeping me from a book. Let me explain: sometimes I push away / put off a book or don't listen to a band even though I half-know that I will love it. It's like denial of a desire, or me wanting to punish myself for some reason by not giving myself something I'll enjoy. I might pass it a dozen times in the book store and want to buy it, be drawn to it... but for some reason I always end up getting a different one.
Two examples? I was so sure that I'd never read Mara Dyer or Shatter Me. They were two of my favorite books in 2013 when I finally caved in and read them, about 2 years later. Why am I doing this? Does anyone else have that problem? It's like I'm afraid of the profound effect a good book can have on me.
Despite all that though, NOT having a book I'm reading immediately after finishing the last one makes me even more nervous! The next day at the latest, I have to start a new one.

What about you? Do you ever get this book-nervousness thing? Any ideas why? Has it something to do with specific books? What do you do about/against it? Or am I just a bit cray-cray?

P.S.: I'm visiting a friend in Belgium at the moment (this post is pre-scheduled), so I probably won't get around to answering comments until Monday.

Waiting on Wednesday: Where Silence Gathers, by Kelsey Sutton

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine to spotlight upcoming book releases that we're excited about.


I just realized that I haven't done a WoW post in a month! How did that happen?! o.O


This week's pick:

Release date: July 8, 2014
Publisher: Flux
Format: Paperback, 360 pages

Goodreads description:
In this companion novel to the critically acclaimed Some Quiet Place, Alex must choose between Revenge and Forgiveness.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandra Tate sits outside Nate Foster's house, clutching a gun. After serving ten years for the drunk driving accident that killed Alex's family, Nate has been released from prison. Every night, Alex waits out of sight, building up the courage to exact her own justice. There's just one problem: Forgiveness.

Alex has been able to see personified Emotions for as long as she can remember, and Revenge is her best friend. But when Forgiveness suddenly appears, he offers Alex a choice—getting even or moving on. It's impossible to decide when Revenge whispers in one ear . . . and Forgiveness whispers in the other. 


I really loved Some Quiet Place, though unfortunately I didn't get around to writing a review (yet). The portrayal of the personified emotion Fear really appealed to me, so I can't wait to meet Revenge! I'm also curious about Alex and the whole backstory in general. And just look at this pretty cover! It's a great match for the first book, too.
Have you read Some Quiet Place? Are you interested in the sequel? I think you could also read this one without having read the first book, since the characters are different. I'm still hoping for a Fear cameo ;)

Review: Angelbound, by Christina Bauer

Release date: December 17, 2013
Publisher: Ink Monster LLC
Format: ebook, 532 pages

Goodreads description:
Eighteen year old Myla Lewis is a girl who loves two things: kicking ass and kicking ass. She’s not your every day quasi-demon, half-demon and half-human, girl. For the past five years, Myla has lived for the days she gets to fight in Purgatory’s arena. When souls want a trial by combat for their right to enter heaven or hell, they go up against her, and she hasn’t lost a battle yet.

But as she starts her senior year at Purgatory High, the arena fights aren’t enough to keep her spirits up anymore. When the demons start to act weird, even for demons, and the King of the Demons, Armageddon, shows up at Myla’s school, she knows that things are changing and it’s not looking good for the quasi-demons. Myla starts to question everything, and doesn’t like the answers she finds. What happened seventeen years ago that turned the quasi-demons into slave labor? Why was her mom always so sad? And why won’t anyone tell her who her father is? Things heat up when Myla meets Lincoln, the High Prince of the Thrax, a super sexy half-human and half-angel demon hunter. But what’s a quasi-demon girl to do when she falls for a demon hunter? It’s a good thing that Myla’s not afraid of breaking a few rules. With a love worth fighting for, Myla’s going to shake up Purgatory.


The following review is based on a copy provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.


Review
I took a chance on Angelbound based on the cover (which is absolutely perfect for the book!) and the description that promised a very kickass heroine. And I’m very happy to say that the book delivers – on both the kickass and the general awesomeness account.

Part of what made the book awesome is that despite the sometimes rather serious and doomy subject matter, there were so many fun, snarky, sarcastic moments! I laughed aloud all the time (also because of the nicknames Myla gave all the ghouls). Myla’s voice came off strong from the first page onwards, and over the course of the book I really felt like I knew this person in whose head I had taken up temporary residence. And it’s not just the book saying she is kickass – we, dear readers, actually get to see her kicking said ass. She’s got spunk, she’s maybe a little too cocky sometimes, but not in an annoying way. She’s also loyal and a good friend. And she’s got an overprotective mother who keeps things from her, such as who her father is, which puts a strain on their relationship.

Next up, I really need to praise the world building. You guys know how I’m a sucker for world building, and Angelbound has plenty to go around. It’s basically a version of purgatory (that’s where the action takes place) but there are also other realms, other creatures, and a very thought-out, well-developed system of powers. Basically, purgatory used to belong to the quasi-demons – people like Myla who are basically human, apart from some demonic traits (like bursts of rage or jealousy, depending on what type of demon you descend from) and, well, tails. I know the tail thing might sound ridiculous, but it really works and I liked how Myla’s sometimes had a mind of its own.
Anyway, purgatory got taken over by a ghoul government and now quasi-demons are not much more than servants. Also, Armageddon, the ruler of hell, has more plans. Things are getting worse for her kind and Myla is among the people who actually might have a chance of stopping him. I’m being deliberately vague here because this is a big book and it’s hard to avoid spoilers. In short, there were some parts of the plot that were a bit predictable but there were enough twists to make up for that, and either way I was always entertained as there was never a dull moment.

Where there’s demons, there are also demon hunters. In this case, they are called thrax. Their culture is very different from Myla’s and in many ways quite medieval. You know, as for the rights of women and the rules of decorum etc. Basically, many of them are stuck-up idiots who think they have it all under control and enjoy looking down their noses at other people. Needless to say, when Myla meets Lincoln, the prince of the thrax, the two don’t exactly hit it off. Him thinking of her as demon spawn and all that. Personally, I really like it when two people start off loathing each other (I wanted to throttle him) and then slowly grow closer, become friends, and maybe more than that. Lincoln really grew on me and I like that Myla didn’t get all mushy over him all of a sudden – they’re equals and they trust in each other’s’ strength. There is no drama for drama’s sake and the romance doesn’t hijack the plot, which is always a plus for me. They also a have a few pretty heated moments, but nothing too graphic. I’d locate the book in the mature YA/possibly NA category.

As for the secondary characters, many of them were pretty fleshed-out and likeable. Some of my favorites were Lincoln’s mother (I always love a fierce queen, especially if she takes me by surprise) and Walker, who is something like Myla’s ghoul guardian and accompanies her to her fights in the arena. I had some mixed feelings about Cissy, Myla’s best friend, but she eventually developed in a direction I found promising.

Overall, Angelbound is a fun read with a world that takes up a few well-known elements but spins them in a way that is new and refreshing. Myla is a great mixture of fierceness and a streak of vulnerability, and I enjoyed both her personal arc as she finds out who she is as well as the romance between her and Lincoln. There are some parts of the book that could have been shortened a bit, but then again that would have taken away from the world building, and I’ve already pointed out how much I loved that.

The flashes back to things that happened before Myla’s birth also brought variety to the story and will keep you engaged as you try to put the pieces together and figure out what this means for the timeline in the present. I have to point out again how much I liked the varied roles of women in this novel. They fight, they take on political responsibility, they try to make the system work in their favor. There are also other cases, of course, but this was really something I liked and would love to see more often: strong women, and the bonds (instead of just rivalry) between strong women.
In short, if you love fierceness, action, romance, awesome world building, and great humor – go pick up Angelbound. The sequel, Scala will be out in May (so no long pining for the next book), and after that ending, I’m very curious about how Myla’s story will go on!


From what you've heard, what do you think of the book? Do you like heroines who can kick butt?

Blogging resolutions for 2014

I know, I know. Another not really all that bookish, blog related post. But I think it's important to set a few goals for myself, officially, in writing. Even though I am usually not at all a new-years-resolution-y person.
But there are things in 2013 that didn't go all that well, that made me feel guilty, that I didn't like. I didn't write as many reviews as I would have wanted. I wasn't very social. I sometimes didn't comment back, or commented back very late. And even though 2014 will be very busy for me, at least the next 4 months (I'm writing my master thesis (deadline in May) and hopefully graduating in the summer/fall), I do want to try to be a better blogger as well. Even though the thesis must take precedence because I really cannot afford to screw this up.

Anyhow, here are some of my blogging resolutions for 2014:

• Review more books, even if this means reading less.
• Be more social: get back on Twitter or at least find a point that I'm comfortable using it at while it isn't eating all my time.
• Also on the social front: comment more, and return all comments on meme posts (unless they are obviously a copy-paste type of comment)
• Restrain myself on Netgalley and Edelweiss
• More original content, not just memes. I really like the discussion posts and judging from the response, I guess you guys did as well. I'm also brainstorming other types of possible posts that haven't been done a gazillion times over.
• Also, maybe try to finally set up that meme/feature I've been meaning to do for a while.
• General maintenance / updating stuff, like maybe some design tweaks (though I really love my header), reconsidering the ways you can follow the blog (do I really need Networked Blogs and GFC?), plus some stuff I consider doing with the FB page or Pinterest. This doesn't have priority though.

I feel like I forgot something... if you have any idea what it might be, let me know :P
Anyway, apart from all that I also simply want to have fun blogging. This is a hobby, not a chore. I'm not planning to ever make any money from this, I'm not affiliated with anybody. I can make my own rules. I think it's important to remember that, too.

I hope you guys had a great start into 2014! If you're a blogger, do you have any resolutions for the new year? Link me up to your post if you have one :)

2014 Reading Challenges

After having wrapped-up my challenges for 2014, here are some I'm planning to complete in 2014. I haven't really been around in late December so I might have missed some cool ones. If I spot them, I'll make a post about joining them later.

Apart from themed challenges, I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge to 150 books again, but I might not make it this time.



I had a lot of fun with this challenge in 2013 and found it very motivating! This year, Bookish is hosting it alone. You can sign up here. There will be a wrap-up post every month on the 20th, and there will be prizes!
Rules: only books published 2013 or earlier, no ARCs or new 2014 releases.
Again, there are several levels:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - First Kiss
31-40 - Sweet Summer Fling
41-50 - Could this be love?
50+ - Married With Children

Last year, I would have been Married With Children (75 books), but as for now I'm opting for a Sweet Summer Fling with 31-40 because I'm anticipating a busy year.

This one is hosted by Caro from The Book Rogue and you can sign up here. It's about books you actually want to read but just can't bring yourself to for some reason. Something irks you about them. They've been sitting on your shelf forever. There can be various reasons, to be determined by those signing up for themselves.

Again, I'm aiming low here. 1) because there aren't that many books that irk me 2) because I don't know how many I can realistically bring myself to read. So I challenge myself to at least 5. Here are some of them:

• The Abhorsen trilogy, by Garth Nix. Why: I have all three novels collected in one fat tome. It's like 1200 pages and really heavy. But I've wanted to read these books for about 10 years and owned the collection for 2 or 3. So it's time.
• Tintenherz (Ink Heart), by Cornelia Funke. I really want to read this one in the German original, but I'm always so reluctant with German books. Not because the language is a problem (I'm Swiss so I grew up with it) but because the German writing style... I don't know. I'm not used to it anymore and it's not really my thing.
• The Taker, by Alma Katsu. I bought this one really cheap more than a year ago and still haven't read it. I think it will be great, but somehow I keep putting it off.
• Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. It's a classic, and though I'm an English Lit major I actually haven't read that many American classics. I'm more familiar with English ones. Also, I'm a bit afraid that I might hate Scarlett.

I'm leaving the 5th book open for now, but I might pick an Anna Rice one that I haven't read yet. I like her novels but sometimes I have a hard time getting into them so I tend to be a bit reluctant.

Ah, the joys of Re-Reading. I used to know them very well as a teen, but now it's been so long since I've been able to re-read some of my old favorites! I only re-read 1 books in 2013. It's a pity. I was meaning for it to be so many more! So this time around, I've joined the Re-Reading challenge hosted by Lianne from Caffeinatedlife.net. If you're interested, you can sign up here. There are several available levels, but I think Occasional Re-Reader (1-4 books) is most realistic for me.
Here are some possibilities:

• Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere or American Gods. I've been meaning to re-read both, but I've got the audiobook of Neverwhere so I might read American Gods as a book and listen to the other one.
• The Replacement, by Brenna Yovanoff. I only read it about a year ago but I'm hearing the call.
• Katzenwinter, by Wolfgang Hohlbein. This is one of the first fantasy books I've ever read and I recently found it at the used books store.
• The Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tokien. I've read it 4 times, but the last time was when I was about 14. And I've never read it in English, only German. Even though I have an English hardcover edition illustrated by Alan Lee. Shame on me.

I think that's it with the challenges for me, unless I stumble across something really awesome. I'll be back tomorrow with my blogger resolutions for 2014.

Have you joined any challenges? Why / why not?

2013 Challenges and General Wrap-up

Hey guys, I'm sorry I've been MIA the past week! First I had to hand in an essay and another paper by the end of 2013, and then I just felt more like lazing around, reading, and re-watching the entire first season of Vampire Diaries with my sister (whom I got hooked). And I also started playing Alice: Madness Returns again after almost two years... I'm so out of shape, but at least it runs properly on this computer. Currently, the Eyepot is either stabbing me to death or scalding me with hot tea. I wish I could beat it like this person.

Anyway, I'm back now and after this wrap-up I'll tell you about the challenges I plan to enter in 2014, some bloggish resolutions, and I'll also do a swag giveaway soon! So stay posted ;)


Apart from the Goodreads Reading Challenge, which I upgraded from 100 to 120 to 150 books and finally completed with 160 (whoohoo!), I entered three other challenges. I completed them all. BUT, and it's a big but... I may have read those book, but my read to reviewed ratio is abysmal. It's so terrible that I'm not even going to bother check it.


2013 TBR Pile Challenge
This one was all about reading books that had been published in 2012 or earlier. I just had a look at my goodreads shelves again to see if I've got everything properly labeled, and I can now say that I've read 75 books that fit this category.
I kind of stopped upgrading the challenge page of the blog in mid-July and I'm sorry for that :( But at first, I'd planned to read 21-30 books, and in July I upgraded that goal to 50. So either way, I've succeeded my expectations, though I still haven't read some books that were on my original list, like Exiled by M.R. Merrick, Velveteen by Daniel Marks or Hourglass by Myra McEntire. Even though I actually own Exiled and Hourglass. Anyway, I'm updating the challenge list now so you can find an overview of all the books there (see top of the page) if you're interested.
There really were a couple amazing books and series I discovered over the course of this challenge! My top three were actually series I thought I'd never read, but then my bloggish friends kept bugging me until I did anyway:
The Divergent trilogy, the Mara Dyer books, and the Shatter Me trilogy. All of them were fantastic and deserve the hype! I'm now pining for Ignite Me and The Retribution of Mara Dyer.
You can find the official wrap-up of this challenge on Bookish here.

2013 Sequel Challenge
I'd challenged myself to read 20 sequels in this challenge hosted by Auntie Spinelli/Novel Heartbeat and eventually read 43! That's amost every 4th book I read. Some of those were novellas though, but I only counted the sequel ones and not the prequel ones. Anyway, a lot of amazing sequels came out this year so this wasn't very difficult. Again, it would just take way too long to link up all the books here or post the covers, but I'll update the challenge page and you can find the list there.

2013 New Adult Reading Challenge
Sometimes I was a little unclear on the category here. Some books are obviously NA, but I've read others, like the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, where the heroine is 22 or 23, so NA-range, but the writing is more like a regular adult book. Anyhow, I wanted to read 10 NA books and ended up reading 20. So I should be fine even if some of them don't count. Again, you can find the complete list on the challenge page.
Some of my faves: Easy by Tammara Webber, For Real by Chelsea Cameron, Rule by Jay Crownover, The Sea of Tranquility, by Katja Millay, The Devil's Metal by Karina Halle (cool if you like something set in the 1970s with some horror thrown in), Losing It by Cora Carmack and Just One Day by Gayle Forman.


On the whole, I had a good bookish 2013. I read more books than in 2012 and I discovered many amazing ones. However, personally, it wasn't my year. That's also one reason for the lack of reviews. I lacked motivation, fell back into bad habits, lost interest in many things, lost contact with people, basically stopped being on twitter sometime in April or so, and was generally withdrawn and often unhappy. The first half of 2014 will be tough because I have to write my MA thesis, but the rest has the potential to be amazing and I'm determined to make the best of it!