Stacking the Shelves (27)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews! It's where bloggers can share what they got for review, bought, borrowed, won or gifted (both physical and eBooks may be included! :D)

It's been a long time since I last posted a StS so here's the books I got over the weeks:

For review:

When the World was Flat by Ingrid Jonach (Goodreads)

*ARC* White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout [*DIESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*] (Goodreads)

Beautiful Bitch (Beautiful Bastard #1.5) by Christina Lauren (Goodreads)

Blood Family by Anne Fine (Goodreads)

*not pictured* Wallbanger by Alice Clayton (Goodreads)

White Trash Beautiful (White Trash #1) by Teresa Mummert (Goodreads)

Ultraviolet Catastrophe by Jamie Grey (Goodreads)

The Nightmare Affair (The Arkwell Academy #1) by Mindee Armett (Goodreads)

*not pictured* Antigoddess (Goddess War #1) by Kendare Blake (Goodreads)

*ARC* Sick by Tom Leveen (Goodreads)

The Burning Sky (The Elemental Trilogy #1) by Sherry Thomas (Goodreads)

The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3) by Rae Carson (Goodreads)

How to Love by Katie Cotugno (Goodreads)

Lost in Babylon (Seven Wonders #2) by Peter Lerangis (Goodreads)

Deception (Defiance #2) by C.J. Redwine (Goodreads)

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White (Goodreads)

Into the Deep (Into the Deep #1) by Samantha Young (Goodreads) (Review)

Bought:

Bully (A Fall Away Novel #1) by Penelope Douglas (Goodreads)

*not pictured* Never Too Far (Too Far #2; Rosemary Beach #2) by Abbi Glines (Goodreads)

*not pictured* Forever Too Far (Too Far #3; Rosemary Beach #4) by Abbi Glines (Goodreads)

Tangled (Tangled #1) by Emma Chase (Goodreads)

Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2) by Sarah Rees Brennan (Goodreads)

*signed* Wait for You (Wait for You #1) by J. Lynn (Goodreads)

One Week Girlfriend (Drew + Fable #1) by Monica Murphy (Goodreads)

Down London Road (On Dublin Street #2) by Samantha Young (Goodreads)

The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never #1) by J.A. Redmerski (Goodreads)

The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen (Goodreads)

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (Goodreads)

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Goodreads)

Origin (Lux #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Goodreads)

The Collector (Dante Walker #1) by Victoria Scott (Goodreads)

Frozen (Heart of Dread #1) by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston (Goodreads)

*not pictured* Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth (Goodreads)

Thank you sooooooo much to Tashya + Harlequin Teen, Tina + A&C UK, Gallery Books, Jamie Grey, Alexis + Tor, Megan + HarperCollins International,  Random House UK, Samantha Young, Ingrid, Caroline + Strange Chemistry, National Book Store, Fully Booked and always, my parents! <3 You all rock!!

What did you get in your mailbox? :) Leave us a comment and we'll check it out!

Blog Tour: ARC Review + Giveaway: Off Chance by Sawyer Bennett

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Title: Off Chance (Off #5)
Author: Sawyer Bennett
Publication date:
Source: Received eARC from AToMR Book Blog Tours (Thanks, Andrea and Sawyer!)
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble



He is seeking absolution.

Flynn Caldwell has a hero complex and it’s one of the reasons he joined the New York City Fire Department. He has spent his entire professional career trying to atone for that one person he failed to save. Because, if he can do that, then perhaps he can be worthy of love again.

She is seeking escape.

Rowan Page’s life is nothing short of a disaster. Always immersed in trouble, she has only herself to depend on. She’s determined to pull herself out of this mess and make something of her life, despite the hard years she has lived on the streets of New York.

Together, they have the chance to become complete.

Flynn and Rowan’s worlds exist miles apart, but when a chance meeting brings them together, neither of them can deny the instant pull that connects them to each other. What starts as a tiny spark eventually flares into a fire so hot, it refuses to be extinguished. 

For it to work, both of them will need to jump feet first into the flames to see where it takes them, despite the risk of being burned.

Review:

I am a big fan of the Off series (I keep reminding myself to review the other books but darn procrastination! One day...) and I am really sad to see it end. It was a great ending, by the way. You get a glimpse of what happens in the future and while it may not have been perfect, it was fitting to the story and to the rest of the characters. What I love about these books is that Sawyer Bennett always manages to give each character such distinct and unique qualities and personalities that really differentiates them from one another. No two characters are the same and it's so amazing that she is able to do that because it makes her books all the more interesting. And this one was no exception...

Off Chance was burning hot and no pun intended. It was smoking out so much steam I expected Sean Kingston to bust out and start singing "Fire Burning". Not kidding. It isn't even because Flynn is a fireman and a Caldwell (which is more than enough) or that they met because Rowen almost got burned alive, nope. And it's definitely not just because their chemistry is so intense even I need to cool myself off. No, it's because of the amount of emotion and vulnerability that this book has. Right from the very beginning, you already know that you have a set of characters that are imperfect and slightly broken but that didn't mean that they couldn't mend themselves because they did, with each other.

Flynn kind of has a hero complex, he always wants to help everyone out but after all of that, he's usually the one who needs saving. (Someone really needed to stage an intervention. Haha) But seriously speaking, Flynn is a great guy but I think that he gives people the benefit of the doubt too much and it ends up hurting him instead. He was the more vulnerable of the two because he was easy to accept his emotions compared to Rowen, who was still harboring some abandonment issues...

If there's one person who managed to keep a tough exterior throughout most of the book, it would be Rowen. There would be times when you would think that she was starting to lower her walls but they were still up there. Their story is kind of like Ever and Linc's it started off one-sided but managed to progress in the end. Rowen, like Ever, just didn't know how to trust people because she's always been let down by the people around her. And I totally understand where she was coming from but the key is to always take things into stride and not let it change you. I think Rowen did what she could in her circumstance that she was in.

Sawyer Bennett has created a couple that has become worthy to end the Off series and one that manages to shine as bright as the others. The Off books have never been one of those cheesy romances. Nope, they are classy and will melt all that cheese off because they are just so steamy... and sweet. I seriously need to get in on this... Are there anymore Caldwell relatives left?

Rating:

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About the author:

Sawyer Bennett is the pen name for a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weakness but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

You can find her here:

Website / Twitter / Facebook

Sentinel Tour: Review + Interview + Giveaway: Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Title: Half-Blood (The Covenant #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publication date: October 18th 2013
Source: Purchased from Fully Booked
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble



The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:

Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.

Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Review:

I read Half-Blood back in 2011 and that was when I knew, I was reading something special. It was then that I fell in love with Jennifer L. Armentrout and her books. Like, crazy in love. Half-Blood was literally this rollercoaster that only got faster and higher as the pages went on and did not show signs of stopping or slowing down, it was both exhilarating and heart-pounding. I fell in love not only with Aiden (oh, yes) but with Alex, Leon and others as well (Seth was iffy for me then). There was not a second that I did not enjoy going into Half-Blood because Jennifer L. Armentrout definitely made sure that her readers would fall in love with her book, and I did.

Alexndria, or Alex, is in a word, a badass. In two words: a witty badass. There were no dull moments in this book because it being told in Alex's POV was entertaining enough. She was this exciting but also reckless girl who usually always threw caution to the wind, consequences be damned. At that time, I completely loved Alex's attitude even though it was really reckless, she was both interesting and refreshing. Alex is one of the most passionate and loyal heroines I have ever read about. She is fiercely loyal to her friends and isn't afraid to stand up to the people who she thinks needs to be put down from their pedestal. Alex certainly isn't perfect but she is such an amazing and inspiring girl (especially with what she went through) that you can't help but just be in awe of her. I certainly was.

Oh, it's time for some sexy times...  While I may be in a committed relationship with Aiden, there's no harm in looking at Seth because that man is mighty fine. But lets talk about the former first. Aiden is Alex's older and super sexy instructor who just so happens to also be super off-limits because he is a pure-blood. There is a law somewhere that states that the pure cannot fraternize with the half-bloods because it might "taint" their heritage or something. I think it's just some good ol' fashioned discrimination. Aiden is a great and really sweet guy, he supports Alex and continuously guides her through the ropes in terms of catching up with her classmates. He's never judged or ridiculed her unless she needed him to. Aiden just makes me swoon... a lot. And then there's Seth, completely hate him but he's a pretty good guy in the first few books. I love his little quips and callbacks to Alex whenever they see each other. They're both great guys, that is why it's so hard to choose. (I choose Aiden. LOL)

Half-Blood isn't just all about the badassery of one girl and the crazy hotness of two guys, it's about more than that and it'll certainly get even crazier. A lot of unexpected things happen in this book and when you think that you've got it all figured out, JLA throws you another curveball to throw you off her scent. There is a steady flow of dialogue that doesn't miss a beat and always seems so appropriate during those certain times. And the society (or is it "race"?) JLA has created is both terrifying and fascinating because we don't necessarily know what they are capable of. Things just get weirder and weirder...

I love JLA. Like, seriously. Half-Blood was what set me off and turned me into a creepy fangirl but I'm proud of being a JLA fangirl. I AM PROUD. One day, I'm going to have to make a review with Supernatural and The Walking Dead gifs... One day. Half-Blood is just an introduction to The Covenant series and once you start, you won't be able to stop. Literally. The books actually grow tentacles and forces you to read the rest of the series. *is sirius* I hope that you'll enjoy your first taste of JLA because trust me, it only gets better. *winky face*

Rating:

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For JLA – Half-Blood was your first published book. Does it hold a special place for you or do you wish you could have a chance to re-write it? Half-Blood definitely holds a special place for me, and I wouldn’t want to re-write it. I’m happy with the book.

For Leon – You defended Alex and advocated for her to stay and be trained. If you’d know she was gonna be such a pain in your ass, would have do that again. Why? Oh yeah, Alex needed to be trained, but I would have advocated for an attitude adjustment along with the training.

For Aiden – That day that Alex meets Seth for the first time, did you notice anything then that could have warned you of what was to come? Everything about him warned me.

For Seth - Did you know that Alex was not impressed with your name when she met you? She thought you should have a more Greek name like Apollo or something. Turn around is fair play. Your thoughts on her name? She’s named after a boy.

About the author:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.

Find Jennifer on: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website | Blog

Blog Tour: ARC Review + Giveaway: Sweet Surrendering by Chelsea M. Cameron

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Title: Sweet Surrendering (Surrender Saga #1)
Author: Chelsea M. Cameron
Publication date: October 15th 2013
Source: Received eARC from publicist (Thanks, Jessica and Chelsea! <3)
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Kobo / iTunes



She’s his boss. He doesn’t care. This office isn’t big enough for the two of them…

When Rory Clarke ends up hiring the guy she spent one steamy night with to be her administrative assistant, she's determined to keep things professional.

Lucas Blaine has other plans for her. He wants Rory, and it’s hard to resist his stunning blue eyes, chin dimple and the way he fills out a suit. Everywhere she looks, there he is, giving her a panty-melting smile and pulling her away for the most amazing (and satisfying) sex she’s ever had in her life.


What starts off as one sexual encounter turns into multiple trysts in and out of the office and the lines she’d tried to draw so carefully are blurring. But the closer they get, the more Rory realizes that there are things about Lucas she doesn’t know, things he’s hiding from her. She’ll have to decide if she can surrender to her feelings or get out while she still can.

Review:

Holy hot crumping tamales! This book is hot, hot, hot. There's always something so exciting about inter-office romances, maybe it's because there's usually some kind of "No fraternizing with fellow employees" rule somewhere in there. But what makes Sweet Surrendering so special is because there's an obvious power-play between the two parties, meaning: Lucas is totally Rory's b*tch in this book. Oh yeah, I went there.

I love reading about dominant males as much as the next woman out there but sometimes, the women just have to take charge and that is exactly what happens in this book. Rory Clarke isn't just the vice president of her father's company, she's also this confident and intelligent lady who definitely knows what she wants. And she may or may not be harboring a little secret somewhere in there. *winky face* But serious face on, Rory is someone who is calculating and takes each step with caution especially since she's a woman, a lot of people underestimate her and that just drives her to prove them all wrong and to succeed even more. That's something I look up to in a protagonist, someone who is determined and perseveres not just to say "Screw you!" to other people but to also feel a sense of self-accomplishment as well.

... But if Rory were to have one weakness, it would have to be Lucas. Oh, Lucas. YES. I'm pretty sure that I've already mentioned this before but I have a huge thing for guys with auburn hair (it may or may not be because of Edward Cullen, I dunno). And yes, Lucas has auburn hair. And yes, now I am obsessed with Lucas. If he and Rory weren't so cute together, I'd totally just snatch him up. Did I mention that he can sing too? Because he can, seriously, sing. Seriously. Also, he's got a few surprises in there somewhere. *winks lasciviously* Heehee. But Lucas isn't just a pretty face with a lot of talents, he's got a few secrets too. Honestly, I never expected whatever happened to happen. I didn't even consider it, but it did happen so... Huge. Shocker. That is all. *zips mouths shut*

If you're looking for an exciting and fun read, Sweet Surrendering is definitely for you. Chelsea M. Cameron manages to create the perfect blend of lovable characters, quick and efficient writing, and an engaging plot. I really enjoyed Sweet Surrendering and I can't wait to read the next book of the Surrendering Saga (it'll be about Sloane and Ryder, Lucas' brother!)

Rating:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click to be redirected to Amazon.

About the author:

Chelsea M. Cameron is a YA/NA New York Times/USA Today Best Selling author from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car and tweeting (this one time, she was tweeted by Neil Gaiman). She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.

Her New Adult Contemporary Romance titles include My Favorite Mistake, which has been bought by Harlequin along with a sequel, Deeper We Fall and Faster We Burn (April 20, 2013)

Her Young Adult books include Nocturnal, Nightmare and Neither, the first three books in The Noctalis Chronicles. The fourth and final book, Neverend will be out in 2013. Whisper, the first in The Whisper Trilogy is also available, with the second book in the series, Silence and the final book, LIsten coming out in 2014.

You can find her here:

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Blog Tour: ARC Review + Giveaway: Wish I May by Lexi Ryan

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Title: Wish I May (New Hope #2)
Author: Lexi Ryan
Publication date: October 4th 2013
Source: Received eARC from publicist (Thanks, Jessica and Lexi! <3)
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Kobo



I grew up wishing on stars.

My father taught me to believe…in destiny, in magic, in happily ever after. Dreams were my scripture and the starry night sky was my temple. Then Mom stopped believing, left him, and took us with her. At the age of sixteen, I cashed in my dreams to pay the rent, pawned my destiny to keep my sisters together. 

Now, seven years later, I’m returning home, grieving the death of my mother, and settling my sisters back into the life Mom threw away. I never intended to stay. I don’t want to deal with my father, who is so invested in the spiritual world he forgets the physical. I don’t want to face William Bailey, whose eyes remind me of the girl I was, the things I’ve done, and the future I lost.
This would all be easier if Will hated me. As it is, I have to hold my secrets close so they won’t hurt him more than they’ve already hurt me. But he wants to be in my life. He wants what I can’t bring myself to confess I sold. He wants me.

I find myself looking to my stars again...wondering if I dare one more wish.

Review:

Lexi Ryan has proved me wrong... again. For about the gazillionth time, I bet she's getting tired of being right all the time. Now let me tell you why she's right and why I don't even care that I'm wrong...

I thought that Unbreak Me was the most intense and angsty book that Lexi Ryan would give us, but I was wrong. Wish I May is probably the one (hopefully because I can't take anymore intenseness or I might actually explode.) I really loved this book and the conflict between the characters (and within them) makes the story so much more. There were parts that I figured out right from the get-go because of the hints being dropped but there were parts that caught me off guard. Like, really caught me off guard. I'm going to go ahead and say that I enjoyed this more than Unbreak Me which is more than a little surprising because I loved Unbreak Me, it was one of the most real and heart-wrenching books I have ever read. Really.

My heart shriveled up and died for Cally; as gross as that may be, it's completely accurate. The things she had to sacrifice and do was so painful to read about, and she was so strong through it all. A human being might actually off himself if that ever happened to him but Cally had her sisters to take care of, and they didn't even know what she had to do for them. My heart hurts for her especially since their father is completely unreliable and Cally is stuck taking care of her sisters again. You'd think she'd catch a break, but she doesn't. At all. Drew, one of her little sisters, is a total b*tch to her, Gabby, the youngest sister, choses to not talk because of what happened to them and now William, her first love, is showing interest in her again but she doesn't know what to do since she doesn't think she'll be staying in New Hope too long (she's afraid of giving William her heart again especially since he doesn't know the whole story and he might react violently). Yeah, secrets suck.

William isn't a new character to you if you've read Unbreak Me and we all know how much of a sad fellow he is. He's been through a lot but always seems to be positive when it comes to the aspect of love. Even though Cally broke his heart all those years ago, he was still willing to forgive her and be generous to them after all they've been through. I fell in love with William in Unbreak Me but now, I would just like to have his babies. William's life wasn't as difficult as Cally's but he did go through a lot of things as well. He is such a great man you will really see his greatness in Wish I May. He has so much to give.

Going into this book, I knew that I'd love it. How could I not? I know that Lexi Ryan is a master of sorts when it comes to writing books that will really attach themselves to your heart. There are many things about this book I loved and there were also things I hated. Love: William, Cally, Hanna, Lizzy, Max, Sam, Gabby, Maggie and Asher. Hate: Meredith and Brandon. In-between: Drew and their dad. These people are what made up Wish I May and they're the ones who gave the book life and its story. It's because Lexi Ryan was able to create such complex but realistic characters that really know how to get through your chest cavity and into your heart. Whether they be good or bad feelings, they're still welcome.

There was definitely a lot of feelings in regards to this book. There was anger, sadness, heartache and even happiness because no matter how dark times may be, there's always room for a little light. Everything was well-thought out and that made everything so well-executed in the end. Lexi Ryan will really get you to feel things, trust me. Like I said, I loved Wish I May and I can't wait to read the next New Hope book (Hanna's story)! Wish I May had just the perfect amount of angst, drama and romance to make it into a great book so kudos to Lexi Ryan!

Rating:

.5

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About the author:

Lexi Ryan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, writes romances with humor, heat, and heart. A former college English professor, Lexi now writes full time from her home in Indiana, where she lives with her husband and two children. Please visit www.lexiryan.com.

You can find her here:

Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook