October in Retrograde

AAH. I can't believe October is over already! October was pretty darn good. I got a new job! I was able to have 2 weeks off in between resigning from my previous job and starting the new one, which was AWESOME. Who doesn't like time off??

I got a TON of new books, thanks to the Green Valley Book Fair that I talked about on my last In My Mailbox post.  My reading this month was about average, I got off to a slow start at the beginning and didn't get through as many as I'd hoped. I've started really getting in to reading books for review.
I was able to participate in a new meme (Feature & Follow), which helped me get a LOT of new followers! I've been commenting a LOT more and have started scheduling posts out so I can be more organized. Yay!

Anyways, here's my October Recap:

Books read: 7

1.Pretties by Scott Westerfeld 4/5

2.The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa (for review via netgalley) 4/5

3.Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover (for review via netgalley) 4.5/5

4.Blackout by Mira Grant 3.5/5

5.Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey 3/5

6.Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton 4.5/5

7.Lover Reborn by J.R.Ward 5/5

Reviews posted: 8  (Will link to review)

1.Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton 4.5/5

2.Blackout by Mira Grant 3.5/5

3.Lover Reborn by J.R.Ward 5/5

4.The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han 5/5

5.It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han 5/5

6.We'll Always Have Summer by Jennny Han 5/5

7.The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa 4/5

8.Uglies by Scott Westerfeld 4/5

Favorite October Read:

Three-way tie between Blood Magic, Lover Reborn and Point of Retreat

 

                             

Least Favorite October Read:

Jekel Loves Hyde

Waiting on Wednesday: Scent of Magic

This little gem is hosted over at Breaking the Spine.

One book I can't wait to sink my grubby little claws into is:

Scent of Magic (Healer #2) by Maria V. Snyder

(Goodreads Link)

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

The Why: I love Maria's writing. If you haven't checked out her Poison Study series yet you're seriously missing out; the main character is hella awesome...as is VALEK! But seriously, everyone should read it, amazing story. Not a big fan of this cover, but whatevs. Anyways, this is the second book in her Healer series, the first one is Touch of Power. I can't wait to see where the author is going to go with this one. CAN'T WAIT.
You can read my review for Touch of Power HERE.
Due for Publication: 12/18/12

Top Ten Tuesday: Kick-Ass Heroines

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

As a lover of lists, I could not resist.

This week's topic is:

Top Ten Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines:

1. Katsa from Graceling (Kristin Cashore)

2. Katniss from The Hunger Games  (Suzanne Collins)

3. Yelena from Poison Study (Maria V. Snyder)

4. Rose from Vampire Academy (Richelle Mead)

5. Faythe from Stray (Rachel Vincent)

6. Annabeth from The Percy Jackson series (Rick Riordan)

7. Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Mrs. Weasley, Professor McGonagall... from Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)

...Well I'm tired and that's all I can think of right now!


Leave a comment with your link and I'll check out your list :)

My Thoughts: Blood Magic (Tessa Gratton)

It starts off simply.

Draw a circle... place a dead leaf in the center... sprinkle some salt... recite a little Latin... add a drop of blood...

Maybe that last part isn’t exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents’ horrific deaths. She’s willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood.

The book isn’t the only recent arrival in Silla’s life. There’s Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She’s not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick’s first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can’t deny their attraction. And they can’t ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power. (Goodreads Blurb/Link)

Source: Purchased

Cover: Love it.

Why I wanted to read it: I mean...BLOOD MAGIC..hellooo

My Thoughts:

WOW. This book is AMAZING.  I loved it!

 Blood.  Witches.  Cutting.  Animal Sacrifice.  Dark secrets.  Murder.  Possession.  Magic. Cemeteries.

 This book had everything I was looking for and SO much more. It was dark and twisty and suspenseful and at times, funny.

The two main characters, Nick and Silla, are drawn together by tragic circumstances. They have both suffered family heartbreak at the hands of blood magic.  One on side you have Silla, who is just discovering the power her blood holds and hopes it will lead to answers regarding her parent’s brutal deaths.  On the other side you have Nick who knows the suffering blood can bring and only wants to forget.  Coming together, Nick and Silla accompany each other down a dark, blood filled road. And what an AMAZING road it is.

I loved Silla and Nick as characters. I found them to be very likeable and easy to attach myself to. As a whole, I felt all the characters were well written.   The romance between Nick and Silla was sweet and hot and passionate.  They are drawn to each other and they need each other but it’s not over done.  Don’t worry, there’s no insta-love here.

The story is told in alternating point of view between the two main characters.  It does not go by chapter, but the author does list who is “speaking”.  I personally find myself enjoying this type of writing more and more, but I know this is a turn off for some people.  This book does have a slow build-up of action and did get a little wordy in parts, but there is a lot of detail. There were a couple of times I found myself re-reading a passage, but I didn’t mind it because I was so absorbed in the story.  There are also flashback chapters that at first I didn’t really understand, but believe me, all will be revealed in the end! While this book definitely has a serious, dark vibe, there is also humor infused into the story as well.  Out of nowhere Nick or Silla would say or do something that had me laughing out loud. And I loved that.

Please be warned, this book is not for the faint of heart. Or for anyone who is squeamish. There is a definite creep factor.  And if you are turned off by blood in the slightest, I would not recommend this book to you. 

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an intriguing, dark, magic filled story with amazing characters, detailed writing, and a little bit of blood (or a lot).

Favorite Quotes:

“It is impossible to know who you really are until you spend time alone in a cemetery.”

“I had that drowning feeling, like the memories and thoughts were a rushing river, surrounding me and pulling me under, and all I could do was fight for air. “

“It was an easy choice to want to make, but taking the first step felt like leaping over a chasm of fire.”

Bottom Line: This book isn’t just ABOUT magic; it IS magic. And I loved every moment. 4.5/5

In My Mailbox: EPIC HAUL edition

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.
It's a chance to show everyone all the new books you've gotten (through review, purchased, gifted, etc.) over the past week (or several).

I really wanted to do a video log, but I don't know how to go about doing that and haven't had time to really look in to it.  So I'm just going to do it the old fashioned way. If you do vlog's I would love any suggestions you might have as far as where to start! The easier the better. :)

It's been a little over a month since my last IMM post and I've gotten a LOT of books since then. This is the BIGGEST IMM I've ever done. And the reason for that is the Green Valley Book Fair!!  The book fair is located in Mt. Crawford, Virginia. It's a massive warehouse filled with all genres of cheap books. The book fair is held for 2 weeks at a time several times a year. And man is it a steal. The young adult section in particular is AWESOME!! I ended up bringing home 50 books. Yes you read that right. 50.  ALL. ON. SALE. I think the most I paid for a book was about 6 dollars, but most of them were in the 2-4 dollar range.  I couldn't help it. So many good titles too tempting to resist! I try to go at least twice a year.

If you live anywhere near this book fair and love books as much as I do, I highly recommend you go. It's actually a 2 hour drive from where I live, but well worth it!
Here's the link to their website: Green Valley Book Fair


Now! On to the books!



I'm actually going to start with books I've gotten for my Kindle:

For review via Netgalley:

Of Light & Darkness (The Vampire's Daughter) by Shayne Leighton

(His eyes are sooo hypnotizing!)

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa (you can read my review HERE)

Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover (read it, loved it, review to post this week)

Bought:

 

Gone by Michael Grant

 

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

(These covers are SO gorgeous!)

 

Barnes & Noble Haul:

I've started collecting my favorite children's books. Roald Dahl Rules!

 

(This is one of the most FANTASTIC children's books I've ever read. I actually teared up.)

 

 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)

Fantastic Mr.Fox (Roald Dahl)

The Witches (Roald Dahl)

Danny the Champion of the World (Roald Dahl)

The Chocolate Touch (Patrick skene Catling)

Charlotte's Web (E.B.White)

Fudge-a-mania (Judy Blume)

The Mark of Athena (Rick Riordan)

Blood Magic (Tessa Gratton)

Lover Reborn (Black Dagger Brotherhood #10) (J.R.Ward)-Read it, loved it, you can read my review HERE

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (William Joyce)

 

I bought 2 drawing books at Michael's:

 

ALRIGHT!

Green Valley Book Fair Haul:

 

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Judith Viorst)

The Complete Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (Judi Barrett)

The Loud Book & The Quiet Book (Deborah Underwood)

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears (Verna Aardema)

The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter)

The Boy with Pink Hair (Perez Hilton)

 

 

 

Fudge-a-mania (Judy Blume)

Superfudge (Judy Blume)

Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great (Judy Blume)

Double Fudge (Judy Blume)

Boris and Bella (Carolyn Crimi)-An incredibly sweet, unique Halloween children's book!

The BFG: a set of plays (Roald Dahl)

 

I bought a couple other Children's books but I already gave them away. I'm not keeping all of these, some of them will be going to my nephew-to-be.

 

Now for the GOOD stuff:

 

 The Eternal Ones (Kirsten Miller)

All You Desire (Kirsten Miller)

 

Shift (#2) (Jeri Smith Ready)

Shine (#3) (Jeri Smith Ready)

 

Someone Like You (Sarah Dessen)

That Summer (Sarah Dessen)

 

The Boyfriend List (e. Lockhart)

The Boy Book (e. Lockhart)

The Treasure Map of Boys (e. Lockhart)

 

Looking For Alaska (John Green)

Paper Towns (John Green)

 

Tyger, Tyger (Kersten Hamilton)

The Jumbee (Pamela Keys)

Jekel Loves Hyde (Beth Fantaskey)-Read it, review to come later this week

Darkness Becomes Her (Kelly Keaton)

 

Stork (Wendy Delsol)

 

Dustlands:Blood Red Road (Moira Young)-Funny story, I bought the hardcover of this book the last time I went to the book fair, I bought the soft cover thinking it was the next book, which apparently isn't even out yet. SO look for a giveaway soon!

 

Hunger (Jackie Morse Kessler)-Already read this but needed it for my collection, you can read my review HERE, AMAZING

 

Goulish Goodies Cookbook

 

She's So Dead to Us (Kieran Scott)

The Unwritten Rule (Elizabeth Scott)

Between Here and Forever (Elizabeth Scott)

Something, Maybe (Elizabeth Scott)

 

Loser Queen (Jodi Lynn Anderson)

Before I Die (Jenny Downham)-Read this on my Kindle, LOVED it, needed a hard copy

 

Nevermore (Kelly Creagh)

Perfect (Ellen Hopkins)

Vampire Academy Graphic Novel (Adapted by Leigh Dragoon)-AMAZING

 

City of Glass (Cassandra Clare)

City of Bones (Cassandra Clare)

(I've already read up to book 3 of The Mortal Instruments series but didn't own the books. They didn't have City of Ashes)

 

Meridian (Amber Kiza)

Waking the Witch (Kelly Armstrong)

Flying Blind (Deborah Cooke)

Night School (Mari Mancusi)

 

 

 

THAT'S IT! SOO many books..EEP. They'll DEF keep me busy for a while. I need more bookshelves! It's so hard sometimes for me to decide what to read next, so if you've read any of these let me know which ones I should move to the top of my list!

 

One more thing, I FINALLY won something!! I participated in Bloggiesta this year and several of the mini-challenges. I won a 10 dollar Amazon giftcard from GIRLXOXO ! yay! A BIG thank you to her! :) You should totally visit her blog!

 

Can't wait to see what everyone else got in their "mailbox"! Leave a comment with your link so I can visit :)