The Queen's Library (41): December, January, and early February Recap and Books

These past couple months have been pretty hectic - both good and bad. A family member is currently suffering serious health issues, and it is not looking as though they will improve, so I've been stressing over that for the past three or four weeks. I'm trying to keep the blog running, but I might be a bit slow to reply to comments  and to comment on other blogs.

But, despite some of the stresses, there have been some great moments. In December, I went to Las Vegas with my family:

Both pictures are from the fountain show out front of the Bellagio - which is truly gorgeous, even if it was insanely crowded. One thing you quickly learn while in Vegas is that people are everywhere, and they are constantly bumping into you. I also saw Cirque du Soleil's Mystere, which was outstanding. I was skeptical going in, because I assumed the show would not live up to the hype, but they won me over very quickly. Their performance was truly out of this world, I'm still amazed when I think about some of the stunts they pulled. If you ever visit Las Vegas, you need to splurge a bit and see one of their shows! I only wish I could seen more. My family and I attended Criss Angel's Believe, which was interesting (I love magic), but it was too reliant on bright flashes of light (which bothered my eyes and gave me a headache by the end). In all, December was great, January was somewhat terrible, and I'm hoping February will be a better month.

Now, onto the books I bought and received for December, January, and part of February:

PURCHASED
EXILE (review)
REACHED (review)
ELEANOR AND PARK
JUST ONE DAY (review)
ASK THE PASSENGERS
THE DUST OF 100 DOGS
PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ
SCARLET (Spanish edition) (review)
THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY (!)

GIFTED (FROM FAMILY)
EON
THE DREAM THIEVES
SECOND CHANCE SUMMER
(3.92 Fall Semester GPA = great grades = books as gifts to celebrate = awesome)

FOR REVIEW: PRINT ARC's / FINISHED COPIES
HALF BAD (ARC)
SECOND STAR (ARC)
MY LAST KISS (ARC)
THE RULE OF 3 (Finished)
HOLLOW CITY (Finished)
THESE BROKEN STARS (Finished)
THE KISS OF DECEPTION (ARC)
THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME (ARC)

FOR REVIEW: E-ARC'S (not pictured)
DEFY
FATES
POISON DANCE
AFTER THE END
SLEEP NO MORE
HER DARK CURIOSITY
THE MURDER COMPLEX
WE WERE LIARS (this was fantastic)
(DON'T YOU) FORGET ABOUT ME

MY WEEKLY RECOMMENDATION

This feature is inspired by Pop Culture Junkie's This Week In Books, The Story Siren's In My Mailbox, and Mailbox Monday. The Queen's Library is a way for me to feature books that I add to my bookshelves and a place to post my weekly recommendations. This is not a new meme, but merely an adjusted feature that is better suited to my blog and needs.