Bookish Discussions: Beautiful Covers

Today's topic is Beautiful Covers!  I saw this topic over at Saloni's blog My Fantabulous Bookshelf and at Diaries of a Book Lover!  It sounded like such a cool topic so here we are!  We all have different definitions of what makes a beautiful cover and which covers catch our eye.  Let's explore some of those shall we?

WWW (10)

WWW Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Should Be Reading!  All you have to do is answer three questions:

1.  What are you currently reading?
2.  What did you recently finish reading?
3.  What do you think you'll read next?

 

Tag Tuesday: The Seven Deadly Sins Tag

In this tag you just answer seven questions relating to the seven deadly sins: Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Pride, Lust, and Envy!  Thank you to Rose at Paranormal Books for tagging me back in January!  Sorry I'm just getting to it now... but anyway, let's get into it!

Review Monday: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

 

Goodreads Blurb:

"The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.

Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.

Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence... and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for."

Review Sunday: The 100 by Kass Morgan

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Goodreads Blurb:

"No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -- until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents -- considered expendable by society -- are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's son, came to Earth for the girl he loves -- but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope."

A Week In Review

Again, no new books this week because of the crazy influx of books I had two weeks ago!  So let's jump right in!

R&R Review Friday: The Church Peak Hotel: Revisited by Eric James-Olson

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Goodreads Blurb:

"A century has elapsed since this collection of short stories, originally published via tChip under the heading “Dark Tales from the Year 2065 and the Decades that Followed,” first caught the collective imagination of the young and the bold. It need not be said that these ‘tales’ contain moments of real suspense, true horror, sheer insanity, unrelieved dread. 

In this new authoritative edition, foremost EJO scholar, McCarthy Gables, provides a groundbreaking introduction revealing the true identities of the original authors, detailing the nature of their literary and political intent, connecting these seemingly minor works to the authors’ major novels: Farmers and Cannibals, But the Angels Never Came, and Just After the Fall. 

(The Church Peak Hotel: Revisited is an interconnected collection of character vignettes. The stories are connected through the fictional introduction and commentary by McCarthy Gables as well as common themes, motifs, characters, and settings. It's all within the same fictional universe. Although it doesn't quite read like a novel, the stories are meant to be read in order. This is the fourth book in the series containing Farmers and Cannibals, But the Angels Never Came, Just After the Fall, and Whom Cain Slew)"

Bookish Discussions: Why Write Reviews?

Today's topic is Why Write Reviews?  I saw this topic over at Cristina's blog Girl In The Pages and thought it was the perfect topic for this week when I'm kind of falling behind on reviews!  So let's get into it shall we?

Waiting On Wednesday (16)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.  It features a book every Wednesday that haven't been released yet and you're anxiously awaiting!  My book this week is:

Top Ten Tuesday (7)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  Every week, The Broke and Bookish post a new topic that that week's top ten lists are based on!  This week's topic is: Ten All Time Favorite Authors of All Time.

Goodbye, Magnolia Book Trailer!

Hey guys!  So remember when I review The Truth About Drew a while back (see my review HERE)?  Well the author, Krista Noorman, offered me a spot on her launch team (or whatever it's called... I'm no good with naming things...)!  Her next book, Goodbye, Magnolia, is coming out on May 19th!  I'll be posting my review that week (I've already read the book and it's fabulous!).  Here's the cover, blurb, and the new book trailer!

Goodreads

Movie Review Monday: The Imitation Game

IMDB

IMDB Blurb:

"During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians."

Review Sunday: Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has... "

A Week In Review

So no new books this week for obvious reasons (that haul last week... going to take me a while to get through THAT).  So it's just a few weekly announcement and review!

London Bound Trailer!

So instead of a review today (mostly because I just can't get my thoughts together today...), here's a new trailer for the book London Bound by Amy Daws!

London Bound by Amy Daws

Bookish Discussions: Reading Outside

It's Spring!!  Well, at least where I live.  And with Spring comes reading outside and all the pleasures and annoyances that go along with it!

WWW (9)

WWW Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Should Be Reading!  All you have to do is answer three questions:

1.  What are you currently reading?
2.  What did you recently finish reading?
3.  What do you think you'll read next?

Top Ten Tuesday (6)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  Every week, The Broke and Bookish post a new topic that that week's top ten lists are based on!  This week's topic is: Ten Inspiring Quotes From Books.

Movie Review Monday: Vampire Academy

IMDB

IMDB Blurb:

"Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, half human-half vampire, a guardian of the Moroi, peaceful, mortal vampires living discreetly within our world. Her calling is to protect the Moroi from bloodthirsty, immortal Vampires, the Strigoi."

Review Sunday: The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository

Goodreads Blurb:

"Her throne awaits . . . if she can live long enough to take it.

It was on her nineteenth birthday that the soldiers came for Kelsea Glynn. They’d come to escort her back to the place of her birth – and to ensure she survives long enough to be able to take possession of what is rightfully hers.

But like many nineteen-year-olds, Kelsea is unruly, has high principles and believes she knows better than her elders. Unlike many nineteen-year-olds, she is about to inherit a kingdom that is on its knees – corrupt, debauched and dangerous.

Kelsea will either become the most fearsome ruler the kingdom has ever known . . . or be dead within the week.

Combining thrilling adventure and action, dark magic, mystery and romance, The Queen of the Tearling is the debut of a born storyteller blessed with a startling imagination."

Stacking The Shelves (22) and A Week In Review

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It features books you've recently added to your shelves, be it from the library, bookstore, or ebooks.

Review Friday: Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"ONE GIRL WILL BRING AN EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES...

Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophie will have to survive her social-climbing mother’s quest to put her on the throne of Russia—at any cost.

Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family—and herself—Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans.

Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man but falling in love with another, Sophie will need to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to become the empress she is destined to be.

In a battle for the soul of a nation, will love or destiny reign supreme?"

Bookish Discussions: Fan (or author) Art and Character Inspirations

Today's Topic is Fan (or author) Art and Character Inspirations.  I'm talking about how the casting directors find their perfect actor for the part.  There's so much fan art out there depicting characters how we interpret them from the page and they can be as different as night and day.  Authors also may release drawings of how they see their characters or release a cast of dream actors for the book made movie.

Waiting On Wednesday (15)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.  It features a book every Wednesday that haven't been released yet and you're anxiously awaiting!  My book this week is:

Tag Tuesday: Book Boyfriend Tag

I was tagged by Angelina and Jessica at My Crazy Reading Obsession back in February!  See, I AM getting caught up!  So basically, you just answer the questions!  I'll be answering the original questions (not the ones that Jessica and Angelina answered.

Movie Review Monday: Insurgent

IMDB Blurb:
"Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart with the help from others on her side."

Review Sunday: A World Away by Nancy Grossman

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"A summer of firsts

Sixteen-year-old Eliza Miller has never made a phone call, never tried on a pair of jeans, never sat in a darkened theater waiting for a movie to start. She’s never even talked to someone her age who isn’t Amish, like her.

A summer of good-byes

When she leaves her close-knit family to spend the summer as a nanny in suburban Chicago, a part of her can’t wait to leave behind everything she knows. She can’t imagine the secrets she will uncover, the friends she will make, the surprises and temptations of a way of life so different from her own.

A summer of impossible choice

Every minute Eliza spends with her new friend Josh feels as good as listening to music for the first time, and she wonders whether there might be a place for her in his world. But as summer wanes, she misses the people she has left behind, and the plain life she once took for granted. Eliza will have to decide for herself where she belongs. Whichever choice she makes, she knows she will lose someone she loves."

Stacking the Shelves (21) and A Week In Review

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It features books you've recently added to your shelves, be it from the library, bookstore, or ebooks.

R&R Review Friday: Tomorrow Is A Long Time by Tabitha Vohn

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"Cal Morrison is a Midwestern farmboy who was thrust into fame during the Old Hollywood era. Now, at eighty-five, he sees his life as wreckage. At the mere age of twenty-four, Eileen has seemingly little in common with Cal, except that she fell in love with him on screen. 

When Cal and Eileen meet by chance, she discovers that her feelings for him are not without merit, and he sees in her a chance for true love and, more importantly, for redemption. 

A controversial experiment offers the key to them both. With the help of a German scientist, Eileen will enter Cal’s memory and, together, the two will create an alternate reality within the realm of dreams. Replacing the memory of his first wife (his leading lady in his most controversial film, The Last Tomorrow), Eileen will step into the 1960’s and discover whether love can exist between her and Cal, and whether loving him unconditionally will be powerful enough to alter the course of his destructive future. 

But there is one thing that neither has fully considered: what happens once they wake? 

Tomorrow is a Long Time asks the question of how powerful one person’s influence can be in our lives, the lengths we go to for love, and whether it is worth it."

Bookish Discussions: Reading Challenges

This week's topic is reading challenges.  I don't mean the kind of challenges that you face when you are an avid reader but rather those things that challenge you to read as much of a certain book as possible (or more general challenges).  I'm sure these types of challenges benefit and motivate so many readers but I just can't seem to get onto the wagon.

March Wrap-Up

March is gone just like that!  It just flew by!  Here's everything that went on in March!