January Wrap Up and February TBR

Read in January: Time/Dimensional Travel

It's a new year and the first month of 2016 is over! Time really does fly! This is quiet and approproate statement considering my theme this month was time travel and dimensional travel. The highlight of my month was definitely being blown away by some highly anticipated reads. It was a pretty good way to start the year. I didn't get to read as many books as I had hoped but you know what I'm not going to already panic about meeting goals. It's too early for that nonsense. I read a total of 12 new books this month including 1 reread. That's pretty good. Plus two 10 star reviews and some honestly amazing books.

As far as challenges go, it's a new year and that means new challenges. YAY! I am a little behind for my Goodreads goal of reading 150 books this year, but like I said... too early to panic. I'm on track for my goal for the Debut Author Challenge of reading 25 debuts by starting the year with 2 debuts this month. I'm also on track for the Netgalley/Edelweiss Challenge having read 3 books for that challenge towards my goal of 36. I'm also on track for the TBR Pile Challenge by reading two books for that this month towards my goal of 25 for the year. And finally, a new challenge for me this year, the Audiobook Challenge. I listened to 3 audiobooks this month which is on track for my goal of 30 or more for the year.

The Books

1.) Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley 
Rating: 9 out of 10 [My Review]

2.) Truthwitch by Susan DennardRating: 10 out of 10 [My Review]

3.) Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray 
Rating: 9. out of 10 [My Review]

4.) The Borden Murders by Sarah Miller Rating: 7.5 out of 10 [My Review]

5.) Passenger by Alexandra Bracken Rating: 9.5 out of 10 [My Review]

6.) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Rating: 9 out of 10 [My Review]

7.) Written in Red by Anne Bishop Rating: 8 out of 10 [My Review]

8.) The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman Rating: 8.5 out of 10 [My Review]
9.) The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 10 out of 10 [My Review]
10.) Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor Rating: 8 out of 10 [Review to Come]
11.) The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry [Review to Come]
12.) A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray [Reread Review]

Other Posts

Crossing Over: Dimensional Travel
Stacking the Shelves: January Haul
Discussion Posts: My Book Buying Ban, I Used to Be Book Prejudiced
Waiting on Wednesday: The Raven King by Maggie Steifvater, The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkowski
Please Feed My Bookworm Thoughts Podcasts: Episode 1 - 2016 Releases

To Be Read in February: Pirates!

In February I'm so excited for my next themed month. I mean it's pirates you guys, who wouldn't be excited? I have review copies of some books I'm really excited to read and there are some new releasescoming out that I have been desperately waiting for. I'm predicting another great month.

1.) The Abyss Surrounds Us by Eily Skrutsie - Add to Goodreads
I got an ARC of this from Netgalley and I;m really excited. It's about space pirates and I heard the romance is f/f which is always exciting for SciFi/Fantasy.

2.) Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys - Add to Goodreads
I'm excited for this historical fiction book by an author that has been on my list for awhile. It kind of feels insensitive to include it during my pirate month but it comes out now and Britt and I are reviewing it together for our podcast.

3.) Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto - Add to Goodreads
This is one of my most anticipated debuts of the year and I'm so excited to read it. It's a dark fantasy Westerm which is totally up my alley.

4.) Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman - Add to Goodreads
This is another exciting debuts. It's going to be a month of debuts. It's historical fiction about Blackbeard and Anne Bonny as teenagers. How cool is that! I'm so excited to read my ARC from Simon Teen.

5.) Calamity by Brandon Sanderson - Add to Goodreads
This is the final book in The Reckoners trilogy and I am anxiously awaiting it despite knowing that it will absolutely destroy me I'm sure.

6.) Rebel Bully Geek Pariah by Erin Jade Lange - Add to Goodreads
Throwing in a random contemporary as a palette cleanser is always a good idea. Plus this one sounds really interesting, it's like the Breakfast Club which I usually enjoy.

7.) The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig - Add to Goodreads
This fit last month's theme of time travel but also this month's pirate theme. I got the UK edition from Netgalley just this week so I'm excited to read it soon!

8.) A Gathering of Shadows by V.E Schwab - Add to Goodreads
So excited! This is the sequel to my favorite book of 2015 and I'm sure this one will be just as wonderful because obviously

So those are the books that I have planned. Like I said I'm trying not to plan out too many reads and keep some backup books in case I have holes in the schedule. I have a few potential or backup books that I may end up reading as well.

Rereads

The Reckoners Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson: Steelheart, Mitosis, and Firefight 
A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab - Original Review

Potential Reads

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan - Add to Goodreads
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - Add to Goodreads
A Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop - Add to Goodreads
Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase - Add to Goodreads


There you have it. All the books I plan to read in February and a few potential reads. What are you reading this month? Are there any of the same books on your list? Have you read any of these? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Stacking the Shelves: January 2016

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews

It's the end of the month. What really? NO! But that means it's time for my January Stacking the Shelves and book haul. I am still on a book buying ban but I did buy a few more books this month. There are some exciting new releases so I had to, you know. And plus it's a book buying diet and these books are like salad. Plus I got some really great review books that I'm excited about. More than usually this month because I'm a Netgalley stalker and I grabbed a few that were Read Now. So here are the books.

Bought

1.) Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - (Add to Goodreads)
This was a post Christmas pre-book buying ban present to myself. The paperback was super cheap.

2.) Passenger by Alexandra Bracken - (Add to Goodreads / My Review)
I pre-orded this one because i was so excited to finish this trilogy. It was amazing.

3.) The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry - (Add to Goodreads)
I have heard nothing but good things about this book so I went out on a limb and bought it.

4.) The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson - (Add to Goodreads / My Review)
Obviously this book was amazing. It's the next book in the Mistborn series and Brandon Sanderson wrote it.

For Review

4.) Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor - (Add to Goodreads)

Thanks HMH! I saw this as Read Now on Netgalley and I grabbed it. It's a debut I'm excited about and it fits this month's theme of time travel so I'm already reading it.

5.) The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner - (Add to Goodreads)

Thanks Random House! This is a YA contemporary and I'm slightly worried because people are saying it's sad but on Monday I mentioned breaking out of my comfort zone. 

6.) The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas - (Add to Goodreads)
Double thanks Random House! I'm so pumped for this debut. Guy's it's YA mystery/thriller set in Western PA where I live. Cannot wait!

7.) The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig - (Add to Goodreads)
Thanks Hot Key! I also grabbed this when the UK version was Read Now on Netgalley. It's one of my top most anticipated debuts so I'm super pumped!

8.) All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda - (Add to Goodreads)
Thanks Simon and Schuster! This sounds like a really unique mystery and you know me, I'm always looking for those.

9.) Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan - (Add to Goodreads)

Thanks HMH! Another one I grabbed when it was Read Now on Netgalley. I've been wanting to read some of this authors work and this one sounds like an interesting retelling.

Gifted

10.) Dissonance by Ericka O'Rourke - (Add to Goodreads).
11.) Winterspell by Claire Legrand - (Add to Goodreads)
My OTSP Secret Sister for this round absolutely out did herself with this final package. Not only because of these books (one I can't wait to read, and one I'm excited to own) but also because of the time turner necklace (which I am obsessed with), all the owl stuff, the map, toys for my cat. but most especially, her reveal! It was this amazing Guess Who style game with participants of the program. It was so fun! Thanks Henny! You were a great SS and I'm going to miss getting your packages. But I'm glad we got to meet through this and will continue to chat.

So those are all the books I got this month. Thank you so much to the amazing publishers who approved my request on Netgalley and Edelweiss as well as my Secret Sister. What books did you get this month? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Audiobook Review: Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

*** This is a sequel to a larger series so if you haven't read the Mistborn trilogy or The Alloy of Law and Shadows of Self you should probably do that first. Read those reviews if you need encouragement. ***

Title: The Bands of Mourning Series: Mistborn #6 (Wax and Wayne #3) Written by: Brandon Sanderson Published: January 26, 2016 by Tor (Macmillan) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: The #1 New York Times bestselling author returns to the world of Mistborn with the follow-up to Shadows of Self.  With The Alloy of Law and Shadows of Self, Brandon Sanderson surprised readers with a New York Times bestselling spinoff of his Mistborn books, set after the action of the trilogy, in a period corresponding to late 19th-century America.  Now, with The Bands of Mourning, Sanderson continues the story. The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metalminds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly anyone thinks they really exist. A kandra researcher has returned to Elendel with images that seem to depict the Bands, as well as writings in a language that no one can read. Waxillium Ladrian is recruited to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate. Along the way he discovers hints that point to the true goals of his uncle Edwarn and the shadowy organization known as The Set.

*incoherant babbling* Boom. Review done. You're welcome. Just kidding. Obviously you can see that I actually did babble by the length of this review. But honestly that's kind of all I should say to you about this book. Well that and it's the next book in the Mistborn series. That should be enough encouragement. But I will attempt to write a normal review so bear with me.

In Shadows of Self, Brandon Sanderson takes us deeper into the world of Mistborn. And you probably already know how much I love this world. In this one he once again builds out the magical system with more explanations of Allomancy, Feruchemy, and even a little Hemalurgy. I love seeing these systems at work and learning about them because they are so unique and complex. I love that it combines an innate ability to do the thing along with the need for the metals to burn. It's probably no surprise that there was a lot of talk about Feruchemy with the title and synopsis being what it is but there was just general explanations of all different kinds of metallurgy which is always cool. There was also more exploration of the larger planet of Scadrial in this book. We are taken even further out of Elendel with this book which was awesome and we even get to learn about some of the other countries within this world which was incredibly fascinating and brought up all kinds of crazy implications for future books within this series and with future series.

But that's what is so cool about this book as well. The incredible amount of foresight and plotting that Sanderson does within these books. I have always been blown away with the way that these Mistborn books are plotted. Each book has it's own individual plot development but there is also a larger plot for the series and even now larger plot from the original trilogy and future trilogies. The cool thing about this series is that it is going to be a quadrilogy of trilogies. We are constantly taken into the future. This is kind of a transitional series between the medieval original trilogy and a more modern era trilogy. It's kind of got this Western/steampunk vibe which I love. But the even cooler thing here is that you can see how or why the technology would develop in the future at the same time there are references and implications that directly relate to characters and moments from the original trilogy. There's a lot of references to characters in the original trilogy here and their exploits are part of the mythology of the world which I love.

Speaking of characters though, wow do I love the characters in this book. It's got serious squad goals you guys. There are some that I instantly fell in love with from their first appearance like Wayne whose effervescent humor and scrappy fighting make him so fun or Wax whose resourcefulness and mystery solving skills make him a great hero. Then there are other characters who have really grown on me, like Steris who was much more involved in this book and despite what she might think made a great addition to the team. She's surprisingly snarky and her compulsive desire to plan and prepare makes her so fun and interesting. She's a great foil for some of the other characters. As a whole this crew works so well together. I love seeing them attempt to solve the mysteries and get themselves out of these impossible situations. And of course the audiobook narrator did a fantastic job creating these characters. He perfectly captures Wayne's humor and scheming, MeLaan's haughty yet vulgar attitude, Steris's indignance and preparedness, Marasi's yearning and intelligence, and Wax's serious and toughness. The characters definitely come to life and the audio helped make that happen.

This series is just so addicting and fast-paced. I'm not the kind of reader who wants to savor a book or series that they love. I'm voracious about my reading. If I love something I want to read it as quickly as possible and that was definitely the case here. I just powered through it, taking less than two days to read it. And yes, the fact that I listened to the audio while at work helped with that but seriously, it was just so engaging. There is so much action and adventure here as well as so much mystery. I wanted to uncover the next secret, to find out what was going to happen next, to see how the characters were going to get out of this dilemma. And Sanderson delivered with the twists and turns. There were tons of surprises as usual and hugely climactic ending that had me on the edge of my seat. Plus that prologue. *inaudibly screams*

I give The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson 10 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: BUY! Is there any doubt of that? I am such a huge fan of this series, as I am sure you know. If you enjoy the Mistborn books then you will love this one as well. It's a great further development of the series and I cannot wait to read The Lost Metal. And if you haven't read the Mistborn series, you need to sort out your priorities. It's one of my all-time favorite fantasy series. It's amazing!

Have you read The Bands of Mourning? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

Title: The Dark Days Club Series: Lady Helen #1 Written by: Alison Goodman Published: January 26, 2016 by Viking (Penguin Group) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: New York Times bestseller Alison Goodman’s eagerly awaited new project: a Regency adventure starring a stylish and intrepid demon-hunter!   London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

I was sent an advance copy of this book from my bookish soul sister Britt from Please Feed the Bookworm (have you heard our podcast? We just started a podcast! Listen here!) around Christmas time and I was absolutely ecstatic. This is a total me book. Historical fantasy about a demon hunter in Regency England? Yes, please. It was a really entertaining read with a fun combination of history, mystery, and fantasy not to mention complex and likable characters but it didn't end up quite blowing me away.

If I were judging it based on it's historical aspects, it would have been a five star read. It's an incredibly well-researched book that takes the reader to Regency Era Britain. You can tell that the author took the time to make every aspect of this book historically accurate. From the interaction of the characters with real historical figures, to the dress, and every day life of the elite of the era it felt realistic and historical. Being a big fan of historical fiction I loved this aspect of the book. It allowed you to be immersed into the world and setting of the book. A setting that was lush and descriptive with history that was interesting and engaging. I particularly like historical fiction where the character is caught between two worlds or the world is modernizing around them. I felt like this with The Dark Days Club. The main character is caught between the expectations for her as a young woman of means and the world of The Dark Days Club. In this case the setting adds to the drama as much as the plot development does.

However if I were judging it based on it's fantasy elements I would have given it three stars. There was much less focus on that aspect of the story. It's always a delicate balance when it comes to these kind of books. You don't want to overwhelm one aspect of the book with the other. However I think maybe the historical stuff overwhelmed the fantasy. At times I felt like the world building and exposition felt like it was just info-dumps and that made it feel forced. Now don't get me wrong, I liked the world. I've heard the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comparison and I can see it, with the legacy the character has and the fact that she has to fight these creatures that most people don't know exist. And the demons were really unique  too. It was interesting, it just didn't balance the aspects enough for my liking.

And that lack of balance lead to a bit of pacing issues too. There was so much focus on the historical aspects in the beginning that it took a while to get into the fantasy elements which is what the plot revolved around. Which is fine, I get that you need to build out the world but then when the fantasy plot development kicked in that felt a little sudden. There was so much build up and mystery throughout the book. I kept waiting for things to go down. I kept waiting for clues to be found and secrets to be revealed but that didn't really happen until way far into the book. And then when we finally reached the ending, it seemed a little rushed and sudden. The plot did have a lot of mystery and fantasy, it just didn't quite have that steady build up that I usually enjoy. But that also could have been because this is the first book in a new series. It was only just laying the groundwork for things that will be developed as the series continues. And I am interested to see where things go.

That being said, the book was redeemed a lot by the characters. Every one of them was complex and interesting. Some of them were more mysterious, others devious, and still others fun and easy-going. There are a lot of different characters here, many of whom are similar to the main character in that they populate both the world of society and the world of The Dark Days Club. And it was sometimes hard to keep them straight they did all add a new dimension to the book. I particularly liked Lady Helen. She was tough, intelligent, and plucky like my favorite female heroines but I liked that she was a bit of a reluctant hero and didn't want to be forced into anything in all the aspects of her life. It made her more sympathetic and relatable. There is a bit of a love triangle although much to my pleasure, the romance was not a big part of the story at all. I gravitated more towards the one side that's probably different from everyone else's pick, which I often do, but I can see people enjoying Lord Carlston as well. I just really enjoyed the fact that the romance was not involved. It allowed me to appreciate the characters more from a personal level.

On the whole Dark Days Club was a thoroughly entertaining book. It had a great historical setting, interesting fantasy elements, and complex characters despite a lot of exposition and world building that slowed down the pacing. It reads a lot faster than it's nearly 500 would lead you to believe and it was compulsively readable.

I give The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman 8.5 out of 10

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. I mean maybe buy it, the finished copy I'm sure will be gorgeous. The design elements are really great with lace borders on the pages. I really enjoyed this book and I'm excited to see where it goes. I would recommend it to fans of historical fiction especially if you are looking something with a hint of fantasy.

Have you read The Dark Days Club? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

(P.S. I cannot wait to watch Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I loved the book so much and the movie looks great!)

Book Review: Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Title: Written in Red Series: The Others #1 Written by: Anne Bishop Published: March 5, 2015 by Penguin Group (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: No one creates realms like "New York Times "bestselling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities--vampires and shape-shifters among them--who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.  As a "cassandra sangue," or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut--a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg's Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard--a business district operated by the Others.  Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she's keeping a secret, and second, she doesn't smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she's wanted by the government, he'll have to decide if she's worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow

I have owned a copy of this book for a while now. I got the Kindle version for only $2 and it took me awhile to read it. I'm not entirely sure why because I've heard nothing but good things from blogging friends. It was a really good adult urban fantasy with lots of mystery and a great world, despite an extremely slow plot development.

One of the things I liked most about this book was the world. Written in Red is Urban Fantasy. I'm not a big Urban Fantasy reader, honestly I can't really think of many UF that I have actually read, so I didn't really know what I was getting into as far as the world of the book. But I was blown away by how complex and engaging it was. Anne Bishop created a really unique alternate North America. It is a world where supernatural creatures inhabited the land before humans and then when they came, they had to deal with them. I loved what she did with her terra indigene. She took things that are familiar to us like shapeshifters and vampires but still made them creative and interesting. Then she created something truly unique ones like with the blood prophet, ponies, and Elementals. They were all so fascinating but I feel like we've only begun to scratch the surface with these supernatural creatures. We've also only begun to scratch the surface with the relationship of the terra indigene and their relationship with humans. This book brought up a lot of complex things that I'm sure will come into play later in the series.

But a lot about this book was just that, barely mentioning things that will come into play later in the series. It led to investment in the series but it did make this book hugely guilty of First Book Syndrome. Written in Red is not a fast-paced book. It took me a lot longer to read than I expected. There was a lot of exposition to this book which slowed down the pacing and plot development a little bit. It's a lot of world building. A lot of explaining about the world and the characters. A lot of explaining about the prejudices that exist in the world. Not to mention a lot of what I think was supposed to be mystery in the beginning that came off as dramatic irony. Eventually things did pick up but not until about 250 pages in. I usually prefer a more plot-driven read and while I did really like the direction of this book it was just so slow. I had been warned about that from fellow bloggers who read it before.

But what made up for the slower pacing at the beginning was the characters. I really enjoyed every single perspective here. And there were a lot of them. Sometimes it was a little jarring to switch mid-chapter between Meg, Simon, and any number of secondary characters but all the perspectives were enjoyable. It gave us a well-rounded look at the world and what was happening within it. This added a lot to the drama and gave you the sense that things were going to build to something huge and it definitely did. Plus seriously, they were all so likable. Meg was a fantastic main character in particular. She's out experiencing the world for the first time but has this basic understanding of it. She's like a time traveler or a foreign exchange students, slightly naive but curious and inquisitive. She doesn't fit into either world but also fits into both which is what makes her even more perfect. And while I liked Simon, for me he did seem a little cliche from time to time. He's your typical tough guy adviser romantic lead who has a heart of gold. Not my favorite trope but I did like him and Meg together. There were also some fantastic secondary characters. I am particularly fond of Henry, Sam, and Tess who were really great terra indigene who I want to learn more about.

On the whole Written in Red was a good first book in a series that I am interested in continue at some point. It had a fascinating world, interesting characters, and a lot of drama. It did suffer from First Book Syndrome but I'm interested in continuing on and seeing how everything develops.

I give Written in Red by Anne Bishop 8 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow (or buy the w-book for $1.99). Despite the fact that it took me a good two weeks, maybe more, to read this one because of the slower pace I did enjoy it. I would recommend this book to fans of Urban Fantasy or anyone looking for a book with supernatural creatures that doesn't feel like the same old thing.

Have you read Written in Red? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Something New and Exciting - Please Feed My Bookworm Thoughts: A Podcast

Hi Everyone,
I'm so so excited to share this very new and special thing that has been in the works for months now! Britt from Please Feed the Bookworm and I have been talking about doing a podcast for so long and we decided to go for it. To give it a try and see how we liked it. Spoiler alert: We liked it!

Now we want to see how you like it! So listen to the podcast below and then stay tuned for more. Our hope is to come out with a new podcast every two weeks. Once a month we will talk about a specific book but otherwise it will be discussions of bookish topics, explanations of what we're reading, and what is going on with our blogs.

This is just another way for us to share our love of books and bookish things. It's also a way for us to do something together. Britt and I love talking about books and so it made total sense for us to do this podcast. We hope you like it too and come along on this exciting new development.

So I do also just want to give a little disclaimer. We are both amateurs at this thing. The sound quality is not great but we'll get better as we do this more so bear with us and out growing pains!

But check out the first episode of Please Feed My Bookworm Thoughts:


What Britt's Reading 
Sword and Verse by Kathy Macmillan - Add to Goodreads
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson - Add to Goodreads

Check out Please Feed the Bookworm For More

What Cassi's Reading
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - Add to Goodreads
Written in Red by Anne Bishop - Add to Goodreads
Passenger by Alexandra Bracken - Add to Goodreads

Check Out This Blog For More

2016 Releases We're Excited About

Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson - Add to Goodreads
Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare - Add to Goodreads
Calamity by Brandon Sanderson - Add to Goodreads
The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters - Add to Goodreads
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab - Add to Goodreads
The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead - Add to Goodreads
The Skylighter by Becky Wallace - Add to Goodreads
Heir to the Sky by Amanda Sun - Add to Goodreads
The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkowski - Add to Goodreads
The Raven King by Maggie Steifvater - Add to Goodreads
Traitor Angels by Anne Blankman - Add to Goodreads
And I Darken by Kiersten White - Add to Goodreads
The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May - Add to Goodreads
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab - Add to Goodreads
Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine - Add to Goodreads

Hope you all enjoyed our podcast. My plan is to post them here on the site and then when we have more built up, put them on iTunes so you can listen along with your other podcasts. You can also listen on Soundcloud and follow us there.

What topics would you like to see Britt and me talk about in the future? What books would you like to see us review? Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Thought I Would Hate and Didn't

A weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

If you didn't stop by the blog yesterday, I did a discussion post where I talked about how I used to be book prejudiced but now I'm not. You can check out the full post HERE. But the general gist of that statement is that I used to think I hated certain types of books and I would judge them before reading them. Then last year I broke down those prejudices and ended up trying some books out of my comfort zone. I actually really liked a lot them. So for today's freebie post, I thought I would mention the ten(ish) books I thought I would hate but didn't.

1.) Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson 
(Add to Goodreads / My Review)
This is the book that started it all. It started breaking down the barriers. I thought it was more of a mystery but turns out it's a YA Contemporary Romance. I was blind-sided by how much I liked it and decided to try some more contemps after that.

2.) Armada by Ernest Cline
(Add to Goodreads / My Review)
This is a weird one to include because I loved Ready Player One and so I would expect to also love Armada. But it's about alien invasions and I hate that. I normally wouldn't read this book but I did because of the author and I loved it.

3.) The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
(Add to Goodreads / My Review)
I mentioned my avoidance of WWII historical fiction in the post yesterday. Also about books that are sad on purpose. This book is both. But it's also beautifully written and amazing. So many people love it so I gave it a try and I'm glad I did.

4.) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
(Add to Goodreads / My Review)
Speaking of beautifully written books. I think I picked this up on a whim because I needed an audiobook when I was travelling. It was extremely sad but also brilliant and amazing. This is another really popular book I'm glad I tried.

5.) More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
(Add to Goodreads / My Review)
This book has some of my triggers. It's sad on purpose but one of the reasons it's so sad is it involves suicide. I didn't know that going in. I'm glad because I liked it though that aspect of the story did keep me from giving it a higher rating.

6.) Looking for Alaska by John Green
(Add to Goodreads / My Review)
I typically avoid John Green books. I know they're funny and all but they characters feel so cliche. Manic pixie dream girls and sad nerds, not my thing. But I did actually love Looking for Alaska. The romance isn't the focus which redeemed it for me.

7.) Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
(Add to Goodreads / My Review)
This is a cancer book but it's not at all sad. I'm glad I gave it a try. I know it got some mixed reviews but it's totally my kind of book. Mostly because of the unlikable characters but there were other reasons too.

8.) Winterspell by Claire Legrand
(Add to Goodreads / My Review)
I don't like fairies. I mean I like them, but not in books. I have a rough history with books about fairies. Winterspell however I liked. And it should also be noted that I read it between marathoning Throne of Glass and Mistborn. That should have made it unenjoyable but it didn't.

9.) The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
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Dystopia and I hadn't really been getting along when I read this book. And I had heard some mixed reviews. But a few great reviews by fellow bloggers convinced me to give it a try. I loved it. It played with the tropes and is more geared towards Sci-Fi fans I think.

10.) Nest by Esther Ehrlich
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Not only do I not always love Middle Grade, especially contemporary-ish MG, but this is also a book that is sad on purpose. But I actually really loved it. It was beautifully written and I think it's one of those books that is super under the radar but great.

11.) Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
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So this one is on the list because I didn't really enjoy the author's first series (see comment about dystopia in #9). But I loved the sounds of this one and so I gave it a read. I ended up loving it and the trend of YA Westerns.

12.) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
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Finally, a recent read I had been putting off for a really long time. Yes, the length of it was worrying me but I also avoided it because I wrongfully assumed that it was just a romance. There are those elements but the history and action were so worth it for me.

What books have you read that you didn't think you were going to like and didn't? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!