The Queen's Library (29)

Kindle Books - Purchased
FEED by Mira Grant
UNRAVEL ME by Tahereh Mafi
FORGIVE MY FINS by Tera Lynn Childs
BOUNDLESS by Cynthia Hand
THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT by Veronica Rossi

Printed Books - Purchased
DON'T BREATHE A WORD by Holly Cupala
FROI OF THE EXILES by Melina Marchetta
CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS by Miriam Forster
SHADES OF EARTH by Beth Revis

Kindle deals are my weakness, apparently. I finally purchased some printed books though, and I'm really excited to start FROI! I loved FINNIKIN, and I've heard that FROI is even better.

What books did you get?

The 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.

The Queen's Library (24)

Books Received For Review MORTAL FIRE by Elizabeth Knox (requested ARC) THE FURY by Alexander Gordon Smith (requested ARC) SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo (requested ARC) IMPULSE by Steven Gould (unsolicited finished copy)

Purchased w/ Giftcard (Kindle Books)

SPARK by Brigid Kemmerer

FEARLESS by Brigid Kemmerer

RADIANT by Cynthia Hand

HALLOWED by Cynthia Hand

THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy by JRR Tolkien FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK by Melina Marchetta (love this book!)

Kindle Freebies

DOUBLE CROSSED by Ally Carter THE PRINCESS OF EGYPT MUST DIE by Stephanie Dray   Many thanks to Ksenia + Macmillan for the review books, and to Tor for the surprise book! 

Inspiration for TQL

Waiting on Wednesday (83) (times 2!)

WOW is hosted by Breaking the Spine

Boundless

by Cynthia Hand

January 22nd, 2013

I was unable to find a summary. I still need to read Hallowed, but I enjoyed Unearthly, so I'm excited for this book! :)

Pivot Point

by Kasie West

February 12th, 2012

"Reminiscent of the movie Sliding Doors, Pivot Point is about a girl who has the power to Search alternate futures. When faced with a life changing decision, she lives out six weeks of two different lives (in alternating chapters), both holding the potential for love and loss, and must ultimately choose which path she is willing to live through."

Interesting cover + summary! I'm definitely curious about this story. 

What are you waiting on? 

Mini-Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

UnearthlyCynthia HandReleased: January 4th, 2011Pages: 435 (hardcover)Publisher: HarperTeenSource: Purchased

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.
Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Honestly, I hate most angel books because I usually end up being disappointed by the time I finish reading.  However, Unearthly was a welcome surprise. From the start, I enjoyed how family-orientated this story is, and the fact that Clara's mother was in-the-know regarding the angel aspects (usually more knowledgeable than our MC). As a narrator, Clara's voice was filled with plenty of fun, fresh humor that made her easy to relate with and root for. While this story didn't "WOW" me the way it did with many other readers, it was great enough to make me curious about the sequel, Hallowed.   Highlights: Certain side characters were nicely written - like Tucker, with his quick jokes and chivalrous manners. Hand's writing has a flowing quality to it, where you promise yourself you'll read only one more chapter, and somehow end up incapable of setting the novel aside. Unearthly is exciting, surprising, and entirely enjoyable. 
Lowlights: I wish Clara's family had been in the story more. I was left with quite a lot of questions at the end. Clara's slightly stalkerish tendencies around Christian came across as somewhat creepy¹. I realize she wanted to protect him, but come on - back off a little.
Rating:  
1 I was thrilled when she stopped obsessing over him. Christian did not interest me at all.²2 Can you tell I'm a Tucker fan? :)


Image + Summary from Goodreads

In My Mailbox 44

IMM is hosted by The Story Siren, inspired by Pop Culture Junkie

Books from last few weeks: 

For Review

Almost True by Keren David (so excited to read this!)

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab ARC

Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens (won from RB)

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter + Bookish Swag 

(Pen, two mini notepads, compact hairbrush/mirror! So cute!)

All You Get is Me by Yvonne Prinz

Bought

Matched by Ally Condie (my review)

She's So Dead To Us by Kieran Scott (my review)

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney 

(signed to me with a very nice note - and I recommend going to Daisy's events if you can!)

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand 

(I couldn't resist buying it signed - it was too tempting!)

Kindle Freebies

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Thank you so much to Deborah from Disney Hyperion for sending two fabulous books, Jessica, Eileen, Random Buzzers/Random House, Stephanie Dray and Kayleigh, and to Yvonne Prinz and HarperCollins :)

Video: Dark Days of Supernatural Tour

Cynthia Hand and Ellen Schreiber went on a tour stop for The Dark Days of Supernatural Tour at Copperfields Books last evening! I was (sadly) not able to attend, but I did watch the Livestream and managed to sneak in my usual random/fun question just before the Q & A ended.

In the video: Ellen Schreiber discusses Once in a Full Moon, and reads an excerpt. Cynthia Hand discusses her debut Unearthly and reads from a chapter. Both authors then participate in a Q & A session, question topics ranging from their novels, the covers, writing, e-readers, et cetera.

Note: The sound is really low, but plugging in headphones and turning the volume all the way up on your computer helps a lot. 

Enjoy! :)

Watch live streaming video from epicreads at livestream.com

I'm still kind of bummed I was unable to attend (I was really looking forward to buying a signed Unearthly copy, checking out Ellen's book, and meeting both authors -- but hopefully I'll get to do so in the future). But thanks to this Livestream that Copperfields was kind enough to do, I still got to pretend I was there (and ask a question)!

Check out Pitch Dark on Facebook for more info, to find out if anyone's coming near you, and to see the contests they have going on!