Monday, October 24, 2016

Let's Talk: Gemina

Title: Gemina
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Series: "The Illuminae Files_02"
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Page Length: 659 pages 
Publication Date: October 18, 2016
Date Started: August 3, 2016
Date Finished: August 3, 2016
Rating: Infinity

*I read from an unfinished ARC*

Man oh man oh man. This book seriously f-ed me up. I feel personally victimized by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. But now that the dramatics are out of the way, this book was flipping fantastic! 

I can't decide which book I like better, the first or second. Both were amazing, but for different reasons. I'm not going to get into any details but there were definitely some parallels in the two books. 

I do feel a little separated from book 2 due to all the missing artwork in the ARC (urgh) but I'm so excited to see the finished art. By the end of finishing the ARC I was frustrated by all the "Final Artwork TK". 

I loved the characters. Hanna and Nik knew each other before everything went to hell, but they weren't dating like Katy and Ezra were at the start of book one. I loved seeing Hanna and Nik's relationship grow and progress with what had been happening in the space station. Things changed and grew and it was great.

The side characters were even so freaking amazing. I loved Nik's cousin so much. We got to meet Katy's dad, who was mentioned in the first book. Every side character was so cool. 

The "villains" in this book were phenomenal. They played their part so well, but at the same time I understood SOME of their actions, not all. I just loved to hate them. I'm actually looking forward to seeing the finished profiles for them. 

There was plot twist after plot twist and my heart was played with. I feel personally victimized. It's been a while since a read a book like this (was the last time Illuminae?) and I loved it. Amie and Jay managed to completely rip me apart then put me back together again. I'm so excited for the next book! You don't even know!

All in all, I definitely recommend this series and this book. I love the characters, I love the setting, I love the plot. It's such an amazing sci-fi book (especially for someone like me who hardly reads sci-fi). I am eagerly awaiting the third (and final) book. 

~

Thanks for reading
xoxo
Lauren

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Tracing the Stars Cover Reveal + Blurb!

Tracing the Stars 
by Amanda Richardson
November 29, 2016


Blurb

For Emilia Harper and Leonardo Kennedy, life has always been defined by science, data, and facts. As astronomers, things are pretty cut and dry. Their lives are disciplined. 
Equated.
Controlled.
A collection of accomplishments.
As childhood pen pals, they thrived on competition and as adults, it seems nothing has changed. 

Except everything has changed.

When Emilia lands a position in Antartica alongside Leo, she's excited about the opportunity and only a little bit anxious to meet Leo--who was her sounding board for all things science until they grew apart and stopped communicating. During their surreptitious first meeting the night before they depart, Emilia discovers that Leo, the brainy teenager, somehow morphed into an egotistical, workaholic prick.

When the incessant bickering begins to give way to solicitous flirting, they discover that maybe mixed in with all the discipline is...Chaos. 
Disorder.
A mess of feelings.

Feelings that can't be computed for explained.

The only problem is, interdepartmental relationships are forbidden at the South Pole station. As the winter gets colder and the sun disappears, they make a conscious effort to stay away from each other. Which is a hard thing to do when you're stuck inside of a glorified igloo with only forty-three other people. Following the rules--something they're both inherently prone to doing--is so much easier said than done.



I am thrilled to be revealing this stunning cover to you all. This book sounds right up my ally and I'm super excited for its release! 
Preorder your ebook through Amazon below!
Coming November 29, 2016!

~

Thanks for reading
xoxo
Lauren

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

September Wrap-Up

I only read 4 books this month. I feel so disappointed, but I also was reading and writing a lot this month. I'm in the middle of reading 4 books, and I'm about halfway through all of them, so maybe that's where this feeling comes from.

1.
Title: Half-Blood
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publication Date: October 18, 2011
Rating: 4/5 stars
Book Talk: http://laurensboookshelf.blogspot.com/2016/09/lets-talk-half-blood.html

2.
Title: Empire of Storms
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: September 6, 2016
Rating: Infinity
Book Talk: Review

3.
Title: How to Hang a Witch
Author: Adriana Mather
Publication Date: July 26, 2016
Rating: 3.5/5
Book Talk: None

4.
Title: Snow Like Ashes
Author: Sara Raasch
Publication Date: October 14, 2014
Rating: 5/5 stars
Book Talk: None

-.-

My favorite book this month was obviously Empire of Storms. I loved it so much (and I cried so much). I am so nervous for the next novel, but so excited nonetheless. I can't wait for it, but it's going to be so long until it releases. 

~
Thanks for reading
xoxo
Lauren


Saturday, October 1, 2016

September 2016 Book Haul


Wowza, I acquired 14(!) books in the month of September. How? I have no idea. Back at the beginning of August I made myself a budget through November and 5 of these books were NOT included in my budget. And yet, I still bought them and I ended up justifying it by cutting back on other parts of my budget. Whoopsie. 

Alright, let's just dive on into all these goodies...

Of course I picked up my most anticipated release of the year, Empire of Storms by my queen-Mrs Sarah J. Maas...

 I got the regular edition just so I could have it on release day and read it immediately...

The Target edition for the bonus content AND poster

The Barnes & Noble edition through a virtual signing for the bonus content AND fan art end pages


And the UK edition through Waterstones for signed edition because I also collect the UK editions. I now have 3 signed books from my queen.

And since the Throne of Glass Coloring Book was coming out, I picked up 2 of them. One I got a few days before it's actual release which was so exciting, and the other from Amazon on the release day. One of them is for coloring and one is for keeping perfect and clean.

Then I had preordered a two books through Books of Wonder. Firstly, I got The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee. This one is signed & personalized. It also came with some awesome metallic temporary tattoos.

I also picked up A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir. This one is also signed. I haven't even read An Ember in the Ashes yet. 

Then here comes my impulse buys. I placed an Amazon order for my dad's birthday and had to include some books for myself. First, I picked up Hide and Seek Her by H.B. Stumbo. She recently re-released this book and I just had to get the new edition. My series matches now :)

I then grabbed Every Pane of Glass so that I could have every book by H.B. Stumbo in print. It's gorgeous (plus, I'm in the acknowledgements section <3 Honestly so honored you don't even know)

Lastly I grabbed Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I had tried reading this before but decided that I couldn't get into it and returned it to the library. However, looking back I realized that if I had continued reading I probably would have loved it. So I bought it.

Then I picked up Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. The movie just recently came out and I really want to see it, but I want to read the book first. So I ordered this from Amazon, and they sent it to the wrong carrier facility so it was four days late. At least I have it now, though. 

Then I preordered another book through Books of Wonder that came in the mail yesterday. It is Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalo. It came signed and personalized, and Kerri also added a quote in the personalization. I love when authors do that! It also came with a temporary tattoo that I will cherish and never wear. I'm so excited for this novel. It has been on my radar since BEA/BookCon and I couldn't get my hands on an arc. It sounds so cool and interesting. 

Lastly, I was at Target shopping and saw Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. I hadn't planned on picking it up for a while yet, but with all the hype around this new release, I just had to grab it. It even came with a poster on the inside dust jacket. I do have to reread Six of Crows first.

I also picked up the "Rowan" lip balm and "Rhysand" limited edition lip balm from BehindthePages on Etsy. I wish I could cuddle up in the smell of Rhys forever. It smells way too good.

There are also some amazing new releases coming up in October, which I have preordered already. I'm so excited for this upcoming month and I hope to read a lot of the books I have bought in the past couple months.

Also, my review for Empire of Storms is still in the works and it will be uploaded when I finish it :)

~

Thanks for reading
xoxo
Lauren