Stacking the Shelves #11

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where you share what books you obtained over the week.

Bought

Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx (Lux #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Opal (Lux #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Gifted

Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans

I also got three B&N gift cards for Christmas.

For My Nook

Shadows (Lux #0.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The First Lie: A Lying Game Novella by Sara Shepard
Daughter of the Earth and Sky (Daughters of Zeus #2) by Kaitlin Bevis

The Secret of Ella and Micha (The Secret #1) by Jessica Sorenson

The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden (The Coincidence #1) 
by Jessica Sorenson

Eternal Eden (Eden Trilogy #1) by Nicole Williams

What books did you get this week?

2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

6 Bloggers, 12 Mini-Challenges, 24 Books to Win!

I attempted this challenge this year, but due to certain circumstances I was unable to finish it. But I am determined to finish it in 2013.

Guidelines:

- This challenge will run from January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013.

- Any genre, length, or format of book counts as long as it was released in 2012 or earlier. 

- You can move up levels, but no moving down.

- On the 20th of each month, one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will have it's unique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway, and a place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository. The giveaway will be open until the next wrap-up post goes up (i.e. the entire month).

For more info about the challenge and signing up visit Evie at Bookish.

Levels:

How many books you're planning to read for this challenge.

1-10 - A Firm Handshake

11-20 - A Friendly Hug

21-30 - A Sweet Kiss

31-40 - Love At First Sight

41-50 - Married With Children

Schedule:

January 20th: Evie@Bookish (www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com)

February 20th: Rachel@Fiktshun (http://www.fiktshun.com)

March 20th: Justin@Justiin's Book Blog (http://www.justinsbookblog.com/)

April 20th: Tiffany@Escaping One Book At A Time (http://escapingonebookatatime.blogspot.com/)

May 20th: Bonnie@Words At Home (www.wordsathome.ca/)

June 20th: Justin@Justin's Book Blog (http://www.justinsbookblog.com/)

July 20th: Emily@Doodle's Book Blog (doodlesbookblog.blogspot.com)

August 20th: Tiffany@Escaping One Book At A Time (http://escapingonebookatatime.blogspot.com/)

September 20th: Rachel@Fiktshun (http://www.fiktshun.com)

October 20th: Emily@Doodle's Book Blog (doodlesbookblog.blogspot.com)

November 20th: Bonnie@Words At Home (www.wordsathome.ca/))

December 20th: This one will be posted on all the blogs. There will also be a huge BOX OF BOOKS giveaway and this time you can link up ALL YOUR TBR Pile REVIEWS you wrote for the entire year.

I'm going to go for the A Sweet Kiss level. 

Books:

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
2. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
3. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
4. Pushing the Limit by Katie McGarry
5. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
6. Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin
7. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
8. The Iron Knight byJulie Kagawa
9. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
10. Insignia by S.J. Kincaid
11. Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally
12. Outpost by Ann Aguirre
13. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
14. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
15. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
16. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
17. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
18. Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
19. Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout
20. Defiance by C.J. Redwine
21. Plague by Michael Grant
22. Fear by Michael Grant

Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Book: Eve and Adam
Author: Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate
# of Pages: 291 (Hardcover)
Rating: 4.5 stars

Goodreads Summary
In the beginning, there was an apple—

And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal.

Just when Eve thinks she will die—not from her injuries, but from boredom—her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy.

Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect... won’t he?(

My Thoughts:
Evening 'Eve' Spiker is in a bad car accident. Eve's mother, Terra, takes her from the hospital to her own facility to help her recover. To keep her from being bored, Terra has Eve work with a computer program and tells her to create the perfect boy. Solo, Terra's assistant of sorts, tries to convince Eve that her mother is doing bad things at her facility and she does not want to believe him.

There were a couple times when Eve annoyed me, but overall, she was very intelligent and a great friend. I loved Solo. He's sneaky, funny, and observant. Eve does not like Solo in the beginning, but eventually she grows to trust him. As for Adam, I thought he was pretty two-dimensional.

I loved the action, mystery, and humor. It was fast paced and addictive. Overall, a very enjoyable book.

Top Ten Books I Read in 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

2. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

3. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

4. Storm and Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

5. Gone by Michael Grant

6. If I Die by Rachel Vincent

7. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

8. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

9. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

10. Wake by Lisa McMann

11. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Stacking the Shelvves #10

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where you share what books you obtained over the week.

Burned (Pretty Little Liars #12) by Sara Shepard

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella (Twilight #3.5) by Stephenie Meyer

Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous by Kathryn Williams

For My Nook

Foundation (Razorland #0.5) by Ann Aguirre

Sweet Venom (Medusa Girls #1) by Tera Lynn Childs

Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2) 

by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3) 

by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Redemption (Caster Chronicles #4) 

by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

What books did you get this week?

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Book: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella (Twilight #3.5)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
# of Pages: 178 (Paperback)
Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads Summary
Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood... life before she became a vampire.

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don’t draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn’t know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.

Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as “her”. As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagines, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?(

My Thoughts:
I initially had no desire to read this, but I ended up getting it out of curiosity. Bree and the other newborns are led and instructed by Riley. He teaches them how to hunt and dispose bodies as well as to stay out of the sun. After spending a day with Diego, Bree has to agree with him that Riley is keeping things from them.

Bree and Diego grow close after a very short period of time and try to hide it from Riley and the other newborns. One of the newborns, Fred, has a very unique talent that nobody truly appreciates except Bree.

I did like Bree and after reading her story, I'm kind of disappointed that she didn't play a bigger role in the Twilight series. Also, I'd like to know what happened to Fred. I think I might reread the series soon.

Endurance by Ann Aguirre

Book: Endurance (Razorland #1.5)
Author: Ann Aguirre
# of Pages: 62 (ebook)
Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads Summary
When rebellion destroys the underground world in which Thimble and Stone have grown up, they take Stone’s son and try to escape the chaos. Along the way, they must evade the Freaks, beings who feed on human flesh. Leaving behind the roles of Builder and Breeder which they were assigned at birth, they wander the underground tunnels, looking for safety yet afraid to go “topside” where legend has it that the light and water will burn their skin from their bones.

Their journey takes them upward to an unimagined world of tinned food, comfortable furniture, and books. Away from their regimented society for the first time, and still facing imminent danger, Thimble and Stone acknowledge the forbidden attraction which both have denied for years.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed getting to know more about Thimble and Stone. Thimble is smart and resourceful while Stone is strong and fast. Together they make the perfect team. They must survive a rebellion and the underground tunnels filled with Freaks in order to get topside. This novella was full of action and romance and I loved every second of it.

Stacking the Shelves #9

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where you share what books you obtained over the week.

The Warrior Heir (The Heir Chronicles #1) by Cinda Williams Chima

The Wizard Heir (The Heir Chronicles #2) by Cinda Williams Chima

The Dragon Heir (The Heir Chronicles #3) by Cinda Williams Chima

A Million Suns (Across the Universe #2) by Beth Revis

The Drowned Cities (Ship Breaker #2) by Paolo Bacigalupi

For My Nook

Endurance (Razorland #1.5) by Ann Aguirre

Greta and the Goblin King (Mylena Chronicles #1) by Chloe Jacobs

The Demon King (Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima

What books did you get this week?