TTT: Auto-buy Authors

Tags

A Court of Thorns and Roses, Alexandra Bracken, Cynthia Hand, Hex Hall, Julie Kagawa, Keira Cass, Lament, Maggie Stiefvater, Michelle Hodkin, Rachael Craw, Rachel Hawkins, Rebel Belle, Sarah J. Maas, Shiver, Spark, Stephanie Oakes, Talon, The Darkest Minds, The Immortal Rules, The Iron Fey, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, The Mara Dyer Trilogy, The Raven Boys, The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, The Selection, Throne of Glass, Unearthly

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Auto-buy Authors

Regardless of whether I have money or not, you can be pretty sure I’ll buy the newest book from these authors:

1. Sarah J. Maas
Having read all the Throne of Glass series, and ACOTAR, I can truthfully say I will probably love anything this woman writes.

 2. Rachael Craw
Everyone should know by now that my love of Spark knows no bounds. And I am sure this love will continue with any other book Rachael Craw decides to write. (She’s amazing, people!!)

3. Julie Kagawa
I searched for ages to find The Iron King, wanting desperately to read it. And I was in no way disappointed. Since then, I have been able to get my hands on all of Julie Kagawa’s books, and I have loved them all.

4. Maggie Stiefvater
Ok, I really don’t think I need to explain this one. I need The Raven King like I need air.

5. Alexandra Bracken
I cannot believe it took me so long to get around to reading The Darkest Minds! I loved it so very much, and am VERY excited for Passenger.

6. Kiera Cass
It’s funny, that the only reason I read The Selection was because my sister wanted to read it…I may have barely given it a second glance otherwise, and wouldn’t that be disappointing.

7. Cynthia Hand
With the exception of the very beginning of Unearthly, I absolutely ADORED the Unearthly trilogy, and The Last Time We Say Goodbye was pretty amazing too. I can’t wait to see what Cynthia Hand writes next.

8. Rachael Hawkins
It took me WAY too long to find Hex Hall, but it was worth the effort. And the Rebel Belle trilogy has been just as good so far.

9. Michelle Hodkin
The Mara Dyer trilogy was so fantastically creepy! I’ve actually been wanting to reread the series for a while.

10. Stephanie Oakes
Ok, so she’s only got one book out so far…but it’s a darn good one. I am very excited to see what’s out next.

Stacking the Shelves: The Yearly Edition

Tags

A Discovery of Witches, A Thousand Pieces of You, Aimee Carter, Alexandra Bracken, Amy Ewing, Amy Zhang, Anna Dressed in Blood, Are You Seeing Me?, Beautiful Darkness, Blood Of Olympus, Blood Promise, Bloodlines, Blue Lily Lily Blue, Boundless, Bram Stoker, Brigid Kemmerer, Captive, Cara Lynn Shultz, Claudia Gray, Corruption, Crown of Midnight, Cynthia Hand, Dangerous Creatures, Darren Groth, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Deborah Harkness, Debra Driza, Demonglass, Disruption, Dracula, E. Lockhart, Endless Knight, Endlessly, Evernight, Falling into Place, Four: A Divergent Collection, Frostbite, Gayle Forman, Half Bad, Hallowed, Heir of Fire, I Was Here, Into the Still Blue, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Jessica Shirvington, Josephine Angelini, Julie Kagawa, Kami Garcia, Kasie West, Kendare Blake, Kiera Cass, Kiersten White, Kresley Cole, Kylie Fornasier, Laini Taylor, Last Sacrifice, Legend, Leigh Bardugo, Let the Sky Fall, Let the Storm Break, Maggie Stiefvater, Margaret Stohl, Marie Lu, Masquerade, Michelle Hodkin, Mind Games, Never Fade, Obsidian, Onyx, Opal, Opposition, Origin, Paranormalcy, Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Pittacus Lore, Pivot Point, Poison Princess, Rachael Craw, Rachel Hawkins, Raising Demons, Rebel Belle, Renegade, Revenge of Seven, Richelle Mead, Rick Riordan, Rick Yancey, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sacrifice, Sally Green, Sarah J. Maas, School Spirits, Secret, Shadow and Bone, Shadow Kiss, Shannon Messenger, Silver Shadows, Sinner, Sister Assassin, Spark, Spell Bound, Spirit Bound, Split Second, Stacking the Shelves, Supernaturally, Talon, The 5th Wave, The Assassin's Blade, The Dark World, The Darkest Minds, The Eternity Cure, The Fiery Heart, The Forever Song, The Goddess Test, The Golden Lily, The Immortal Rules, The Indigo Spell, The Infinite Sea, The Jewel, The Lost Files: Hidden Enemy, The One, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, The Selection Stories, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Young Elites, Throne of Glass, Through the Ever Night, Trial by Fire, Under the Never Sky, Uneartly, Vampire Academy, Veronica Rossi, Veronica Roth, We Were Liars

Stacking the Shelves is a thing where we talk about the books we’ve collected in the past week. These can be bought, delivered, ARCs, ebooks, etc.. Pretty self-explanatory.
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tygna’s Reviews

This week, in honour of the new year, I’m doing things a little differently.

I’m doing a post on ALL the books I bought this year!

It’s going to be epic.

Also, please note, I have actually been working on this post since October. This thing has taken me 3 MONTHS to create.

Enjoy.

Books Bought:

And here’s what you’re seeing in the picture

Whole series bought:
Unearthly Trilogy, by Cynthia Hand
Obsidian Series, by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Blood of Eden Trilogy, by Julie Kagawa
Pivot Point Duology, by Kasie West
Under the Never Sky Trilogy, by Veronica Rossi
Vampire Academy Series, by Richelle Mead (incl. Movie companion & Ultimate Guide)
Paranormalcy Trilogy*, by Kiersten White
Sister Assassin Duology, by Kiersten White
Disruption Duology, by Jessica Shirvington

Whole series currently available bought:
Bloodlines, by Richelle Mead
The Arcana Chronicles, by Kresley Cole
Let the Sky Fall, by Shannon Messenger
The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey
Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas

Other:
Secret/Sacrifice, by Brigid Kemmerer
The Selection Stories/The One, by Kiera Cass
The Goddess Test/Captive, by Aimee Carter
Raising Demons/Spell Bound/School Spirits, by Rachel Hawkins
The Dark World, by Cara Lynn Shultz
Four: A Divergent Collection, by Veronica Roth
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
Sinner, by Maggie Stiefvater
Masquerade, by Kylie Fornasier
Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods/Blood of Olympus, by Rick Riordan
Renegade, by Debra Driza
Legend, by Marie Lu
Dangerous Creatures*/Beautiful Darkness, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Talon, by Julie Kagawa
Revenge of Seven/Hidden Enemy, by Pittacus Lore

*Not pictures because I forgot that I bought them this year and I didn’t remember until after I put all the books back

Special Mentions (ordered, not received):
Rebel Belle, by Rachel Hawkins
The Retribution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

Books Won:

Now, I didn’t have to pay for all my books last year…rafflecopter was kind enough to allow me to win several books, plus bookish events enabled book winning.

Won from blogs:
Are You Seeing Me?, by Darren Groth (Thank you Notebook Sisters!)
Falling into Place, by Amy Zhang (Thank you Book Nerd Reviews!)
Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater (Thank you Miss Page Turner’s City of Books)
The Jewel*, by Amy Ewing (Thank you Genie in a book!)
Spark*, by Rachel Craw (Thank you again, Notebook Sisters!!)

*Not received yet

Won at events:
A Thousand Pieces of You, by Claudia Gray (BTCYA)
The Mortal Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare (CoHF Book Launch) (I gave these to my sister…she loves me)

Miscellaneous:

Presents (Birthdays, Christmas, etc.):
We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart
The Young Elites, by Marie Lu
Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo
The Darkest Minds/Never Fade, by Alexandra Bracken
Trial By Fire, by Josephine Angelini
Days of Blood and Starlight, by Laini Taylor
Dracula and Other Horror Stories, by Bram Stoker

Books I got for free (through various means):
Evernight, by Claudia Gray
A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness
Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
Half Bad, by Sally Green
I Was Here, by Gayle Forman (ARC)

---

So…that was all the books I got my hands on 2014.

How was every one else’s year?

Review: Talon

Tags

Julie Kagawa, Talon

Author: Julie Kagawa

Series: Talon (Book 1)

Synopsis:

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they’re positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon’s newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember’s bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

How I got this book: Bought

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

My Thoughts:

I seem to have a somewhat unpopular opinion with this book in that I loved it.

Like, I actually really enjoyed it.

I mean, sure, I had some issues with it, and I totally get why so many people don’t like it, but I still really, really liked it.

Ok, let’s move onto the issues, because they were there:

1. The instalove.
Ok, I’ve seen some instalove which has been completely ignorable as instalove…not this time. This was honestly ridiculous. It was literally love-at-first-sight. Like, Ember and her new human friends were being harassed by some morons, and Garrett steps in and beats the guys up with his friend.
Ok, that’s fine.
But from that point on, neither Ember nor Garrett are able to forget the other, and the whole thing is just ridiculous.

2. The love triangle
Ok, so we have the instalove with Garret and Ember. Ok, fine. But just in case that wasn’t enough…BAM! Introduce mysterious rogue dragon, Riley, who is in love* with Ember, because he’s watched her from a distance and reckons they have similarities.
*Rolls eyes*

*Note: Apparently these dragons have an inability to fall in love, so the whole Ember/Riley thing is a little more complicated. Also, this inability is weird, because of the whole Ember/Garret thing. I’m hoping there is some qualification in later books, and it isn’t just a case of ‘wow, that guy is so hot I suddenly am able to love’…because at the moment, that’s what it feels like.

Final Opinion:

These issues aside, I did actually really enjoy this book, and I am really looking forward to the next one.

 

This Week in Books

Tags

Blue Lily Lily Blue, Insurgent, Julie Kagawa, Maggie Stiefvater, NaNoWriMo, Talon, Veronica Roth

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo begins today!!

Due to the fact that uni is still happening, and exams are coming up, most of my writing will be restricted to weekends and the last week of November.

However, I’m still going to try.

And good luck to everyone else participating.

Insurgent Posters

You can view the interactive 3D posters here.

*EXCITEMENT*

Books released:

Talon, by Julie Kagawa

Books Read:

Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater
I just want to start by saying that I did not read this intentionally…IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!
But it was SO GOOD! I don’t know what it is about those books, but they are just so amazing.
Also, I think my feels died a little.

Miscellaneous:

Because everyone needs this photo in their life:

Just one of the many marvellous pictures that you get to see if you follow me on instagram!

Stacking the Shelves

Tags

Julie Kagawa, Stacking the Shelves, Talon

Stacking the Shelves is a thing where we talk about the books we’ve collected in the past week. These can be bought, delivered, ARCs, ebooks, etc.. Pretty self-explanatory.
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tygna’s Reviews

Books Bought:

Talon, by Julie Kagawa

Top Ten Tuesday

Tags

Blood Of Olympus, Blue Lily Lily Blue, Brigid Kemmerer, Disruption, E. Lockhart, Jessica Shirvington, Julie Kagawa, Lisa M. Stasse, Maggie Stiefvater, Michelle Hodkin, Revenge of Seven, Rick Riordan, Rick Yancey, Sacrifice, Spring TBR, Talon, The 5th Wave, The Maze Runner, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, The Uprising, Top Ten Tuesday, We Were Liars

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Books on my Spring TBR list

Originally, this was a ‘Fall TBR list’, but in Australia, there is no Fall (we call it Autumn), and Autumn doesn’t happen until March, so I changed it to Spring…figured it made sense…

I’m splitting this list into two. The first 5 will be books that aren’t out yet, the last 5 will be books that are already out.

Books not out yet:

1. Sacrifice, by Brigid Kemmerer

2. Blood of Olympus, by Rick Riordan

3. Talon, by Julie Kagawa

4. The Retribution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

5. Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater

Books already out:

6. The Uprising, by Lisa M. Stasse

7. The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey

8. We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart

9. The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

10. Revenge of Seven, by Pittacus Lore

And bonus (because of the Between the Covers Book Club):

11. Disruption, by Jessica Shirvington

Waiting On Wednesday: Talon

Tags

Julie Kagawa, Talon, Waiting on Wednesday

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Author: Julie Kagawa

Release Date: 01 November, 2014 (Aus.)

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they’re positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon’s newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember’s bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons

Why this book?

NEW JULIE KAGAWA BOOK!!!!

I’m excited.

Top Ten Tuesday

Tags

A Discovery of Witches, Aimee Carter, Alexandra Adornetto, Blood Of Olympus, Blue Lily Lily Blue, Books I want but don't have, Brigid Kemmerer, Captive, Danielle Parker, Deborah Harkness, Debra Driza, Dorothy Must Die, E. Lockhart, Ella Minnow Pea, Ender's Game, Halo, Illusions of Fate, James Dashner, Julie Kagawa, Katrina Leno, Kiersten White, Maggie Stiefvater, Marie Lu, Mark Dunn, Michelle, Orson Scott Card, Pittacus Lore, Renegade, Revenge of Seven, Richelle Mead, Rick Riordan, Sacrifice, Sophie Jordan, Talon, The Half Life of Molly Pierce, The Maze Runner, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, The Ruby Circle, Top Ten Tuesday, Uninvited, We Were Liars, Young Elites

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Books I really want to read but don’t own yet

I’ve decided to split this into two lists:

Books that haven’t been released yet-

1. The Retribution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

2. Illusions of Fate, by Kiersten White

3. The Revenge of Seven, by Pittacus Lore

4. Talon, by Julie Kagawa

5. Sacrifice, by Brigid Kemmerer

6. Blood of Olympus, by Rick Riordan

7. Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater

8. The Ruby Circle, by Richelle Mead

9. The Young Elites, by Marie Lu

10. Captive, by Aimee Carter

Books that have been published-

1. Uninvited, by Sophie Jordan

2. Dorothy Must Die, by Danielle Parker

3. The Half Life of Molly Pierce, by Katrina Leno

4. We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart

5. Renegade, by Debra Driza

6. Halo, by Alexandra Adornetto

7. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn

8. A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

9. The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

10. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card

This Week in Books

Tags

Jennifer L. Armentrout, Julie Kagawa, Opposition, Talon, This Week's Adventures

Just a note:

As of Monday, I went back to uni (Semester 2 begins…)

I’m there four days a week, and I’m doing Maths and Physics.

I don’t think it needs saying, but this is going to seriously restrict my time. I have weekly posts (like Top Ten Tuesday and Waiting on Wednesday) scheduled up until the end of October, but chances of me being able to reply to comments and stuff like that as often as I usually do is not very likely.

Then again…productive procrastination can be a wonderful thing.

So, if it appears that I’m not talking (or if any unfinished posts suddenly appear), you now know why.

Silver Shadows:

So…there’s no Silver Shadows stuff this week…I read it, I loved it, and now I’m waiting for February.

But I still felt like I needed to mention it.

Talon:

Talon (by Julie Kagawa), is now available on Netgalley for Australians!!!

Find it here.

Opposition:

Opposition (by Jennifer L. Armentrout) came out on Tuesday…

Well, in America it did, at least. I haven’t seen it in Australia yet, but that doesn’t really surprise me.

Books Read:

Quicksilver, by R.J. Anderson
Now all I want to do is read Ultraviolet again…these are such good books.

Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas
As at the time I’m writing this, I haven’t actually finished it…but I’m going to assume that by the time this post goes online I will have finished it. (I’m currently up to chapter 7, and I’m loving it so far).

Top Ten Tuesday

Tags

Blood of Eden, Bloodlines, Cassandra Clare, Deltora Quest, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Emily Rodda, Harry Potter, Heroes of Olympus, J.K. Rowling, Julie Kagawa, Kiersten White, Lorien Legacies, Melody Carlson, Percy Jackson, Pittacus, Richelle Mead, Rick Riordan, Rondo, Sister Assassin, Supernaturally, Talon, Ted Dekker, The Infernal Devices, The Iron Fey, The Mortal, Top Ten Tuesday, Vampire Academy

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Authors I own the most books from

1. Julie Kagawa
I own all of The Iron Fey and all of the Blood of Eden…I am now anxiously awaiting Talon.
Julie Kagawa has her own shelf in my bookshelves (there are 10 so far).

2. Richelle Mead
I have all the Vampire Academy books and all the Bloodlines books…as of today (Silver Shadows is coming out), that will make my total of her books 11.

3. Rick Riordan
I own all the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus books. I am yet to own the Kane Chronicles. That makes 9 of his books.

4. Cassandra Clare
I have all of The Mortal Instruments and all The Infernal Devices. And The Shadow Hunter’s Codex. That makes 10. I’m probably not going to buy The Dark Artifices, though. I’ll borrow it, and if it’s really good, then I’ll consider buying it.

5. Melody Carlson
I have the entire Diary of A Teenage Girl series, which makes 16 books.

6. Emily Rodda
Because I have all the Deltora Quest in Omnibus form, it looks like I’ve only got 6 books by her, but in reality, I have 4 series. (I have the Rondo series as separate books). So, in reality, I have 18 of her books.

7. Ted Dekker
I have a few of his series in omnibus, but I haven’t read half of them. Counting all of them individually, I have 13. I have read 6 1/2.

8. Pittacus Lore
I have all the Lorien Legacies, including the first Lost Files (the 2nd Lost Files is not yet available in Aus). This brings the total to 5. Come August, this number will increase.

9. Kiersten White
I have the Supernaturally Trilogy and both Mind Games books (although in Australia, Mind Games goes by the name Sister Assassin). This brings my total of Kiersten White books to 5.

10. J.K. Rowling
I own all the Harry Potter books, plus the textbooks. This brings my total to 10.