November Check In

I cannot believe that we are more then halfway through November! Seriously, where did this year go. The older I get the faster time seems to fly.

Another unbelievable moment, I have 17 completed books already this month!

Going to start with audio books. I have a long commute, at least one hour, one way... So over the course of the week I am in the car for a minimum of 10 hours. Precious reading time. So in June or July I finally broke down and purchased a library card and I hooked it up to Libby by Overdrive in the last couple months and I love it!

I was able to knock out a ton of 2012 reads starting with Look Me In The Eye. I really enjoyed it! John Elder Robison was diagnosed with Asperger's late in life. This story depicts his turbulent childhood and young adulthood facing normal challenges of being a kid and abnormal challenges of an atypical family life. It was interesting seeing how he handled the world and the decision making from such a different point of view.

Then I moved to Voluntary Madness, it was disappointing. See my GoodReads for a more in depth rant on my dislike for this book.

Three to Get Deadly and Mini Shopaholic are lighthearted chick lit easy books that kept me entertained. I absolutely love the voices of Stephanie Plum and Rebecca Bloomwood Brandon.

Then I finally finished The Honeymoon duology. I enjoyed Second Honeymoon. It was not a typical James Patterson plot but was still fast paced and interesting mystery to the end.

Blood Test is book two in the Alex Delaware series. I am really enjoying this series. It is hard subject matter. Alex Delaware is a child psychologist so go into this with your eyes wide open to the fact their will be crimes against children. That being said. I love the characters, even the side characters. You can sometimes see the age in these books, such as not having cell phones, but they are still relevant and good!

I then reread Idlewild before Edenborn. I remembering really enjoying Idlewild as a kid, one of my tattoos is even loosely based on a quote pulled from the story. It was just okay the second time around and Edenborn was just okay as well. I don't think I will continue to the third book.

Grave Peril was just okay for me too. I liked the first two books in the series much more.

Shopaholic to the stars, again, I just love the characters voice!

Then I finally ventured outside my 2012 reading list for my last two audio books.

The Good Girl was pretty good! I kind of had a feeling where the book was going but I really enjoyed watching it unfold anyways. It wasn't overly unique but I liked the story development a lot.

Then my latest audio book was Mary Poppins. This was actually pretty disappointing to me. I didn't like Mary Poppins character at all and overall it made me uncomfortable imagining her as a real person.

Moving on to physical/ebooks!

Avatar Part One and Two, these were just okay. I wanted quick physical reads and I saw these on booktube and I remember liking the animated show when I was younger.

Good Me Bad Me, this book is hella effed up. Trying to put that nicely. It was really entertaining. I liked watching the character development and I think the relationships were displayed in a convincing manner. I know some people had an issue with the daughters feelings towards the serial killer mother but unless you have experienced that type of turmoil in a relationship it is hard to understand the connection. Even if you have experienced that type of relationship, its hard to see things when they are happening to you directly. I think the conflicted feelings were natural and portrayed pretty well. This book has a lot of triggers so make sure you read the description and reviews if you are sensitive to abuse, child abuse, self harm etc

The Other Side Of Beauty, this book took me by surprise. I really enjoyed it. Not the typical book I would pick up. This was a giveaway from GoodReads in exchange for an honest review. When I was scrolling through the cover and the main title hooked me and I thought why not. Then I received it in the mail and I was like, ohhh...well...I guess its short ill give it a try. I think the beginning is highly relate-able to all women young and old. Leah Darrow talks about the pressures placed on women starting at a very young age to fit the ideal beauty. The second half dives into more religious preaching on the idea of beauty and how it relates directly to the bible but I still think there are very good messages even if you don't practice and religion. A great book for women to read and thoughtfully consider the questions/opinions poised.

Another GoodReads giveaway in exchange for an honest review, RIP Eliza Hart. Another book I enjoyed! This book I think did a really good job with a very difficult subject matter. Eliza Hart was Ellie's best friend in first grade before she moved to New York. Ellie has never really gotten over the loss of her friend, especially since she is unable to make new friends since she is labeled class freak due to her claustrophobia that started after she left California. Ellie gets the chance to move back to California on scholarship and hopes that being back will help her overcome her disability. A fresh start. Eliza though has made sure that wont happen though. Even after Eliza is found dead, the small elite school hates Ellie and blames her for the death of the most beloved and popular student. Only Ellie's roommate seems to be on her side. This book dives deep into mental disorders. There are triggers for depression, suicide and bullying. It was written so a younger audience could enjoy it with out sacrificing the depth of the message. I think how depression was conveyed was very well done. It send a powerful message about peoples hidden journeys and how we don't always understand how people cope around us. There were some things that were overdone that I didn't understand in the story, like the extent of the claustrophobia that Ellie experiences. I get that is what drives her to move back to California and really keeps the plot moving in the right direction but it wasn't something I could fully understand.

Though I have knocked out a ton of reading this month, there is still so much more!!! If you want more of my opinions on these books let me know!

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

Loud Music Blog Tour

I was given an e-copy of Loud Music by Gloria L Geiger in exchange for my honest review and participating in this blog tour.

The copy I received was a rough copy but had a lot of potential to be a good book. Ryan Davies is the lead singer of the most popular rock group and his fame leads him to be infamous. Though his life looks like the typical rock star life from the outside being trapped in his world is terrifying at times. Not only are the fans psychotic, so are the people that are personally in his life. One event leads to another and Ryan is forced to do time at his dad's ranch where he meets some people that are more down to earth but can he stay secluded? Will he learn how to be more down to earth?

Again, the copy I had needed some work. Not going to lie. There was a lot of editing issues and not just grammar and spelling but plot that needed to be fixed. Setting all that aside though I did enjoy this story and would be curious to see what the final copy reads!

TOUR SCHEDULE:

Nov. 11th: Jen (http://www.happylilbooknook.com)

Nov. 12th: Sarah P. (http://www.sarahinzombieland.wordpress.com)  

Nov. 14th:  Sarah E. (http://www.transientdrifter.blogspot.com)

Nov. 15th:  Pagie G. (http://www.popthebutterfly.wordpress.com)

Nov. 17th:  Misty (http://www.mistysbookspace.wordpress.com)

Blog Tour Organized by: Happy Lil Book Tours

*Hosts were provided with a copy of the book for review purposes in exchange for their honest reviews and opinions.*

November TBR

I can't believe its already November!

My goal over the next couple months is to have only 3 or 4 currently reading books, highlighted in yellow below... we will see how that goes! My current running TBR has changed a bit. I have finished one book already this month, highlighted in green below.

This is an incomplete list in regards to want to read but a realistic will read.

Source:
B = Borrowed/Library
F2R = First to Read (Penguin) – Honest Review
GR = GoodReads – Honest Review 

G = Giveaway – Honest Review
NG = NetGalley – Honest Review
P = Purchased

Format:
A = Audio
E = E-book
P = Physical

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

October Wrap Up

Current TBR List: 15
Currently Reading: 7
Books Finished in October: 18

Another great reading month! I will say that I heavily relied on audiobooks though.

As a wrap up of the last week and few days…

I listened to The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne. The atmosphere of this book was spellbinding! One identical twin dies, the other is alive but her identity is being blurred. She is the exact replica of her twin, not a mirror image, not slightly different, not a mole to tell them apart. A year after the accident truths of that night start coming out. Who is the real victim, the real person at fault. What mistakes do we make when we see things from our perspective alone? This was a great read for October!

I then finished a First to Read free e-book in exchange for an honest review. Mental but Jaime Lowe made me feel, well, mental. This book was written in a fashion that made you feel as though you were experiencing a manic episode right along with Jaime. Raw and jumbled full of idea of grandeur and unmovable depression. The memoir starts with her diagnosis as a teenager. The only benefit of her time of diagnosis being that mental health was becoming a little less stigmatized and she was able to get the treatment she needed and quickly.

I enjoyed the interspersed personal pictures and drawings. It added an emotional touch that Jaime was and is just another normal person on the street. It is heartbreaking to know that people suffer so much. That while the human body can be so amazing it can also be a horrific place to be for some people. It is horrible knowing you can't trust your own mind

A cute fun read was next, Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella. I absolutely love her writing voice in this series. Becky’s is a strong whirlwind of a character and I love to watch her go bumbling through life. In this story Becky gets back from her honeymoon to find that the world carried on without her. None of her reunions are going to plan and as even further shock, she has a sister. Becky’s dad was in a relationship prior to her mother and a little girl, Jessica, was the result. Jessica reached out in a sense of duty and is not expecting or wanting much out of any of the relationships. Becky, in her usual style, goes crazy with the idea of having a sister and is in for the shock of her life time when she finds out Jessica doesn’t like to shop. Not only does she not like it, she abhors it.

Then a bit of a bummer, I finished The Ninth Circle by C.A Harland. This was a free e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I wanted to like this book so much. The synopsis was interesting and the cover was really pretty. Unfortunately though the characters failed to capture my interest and the story was a whirlwind of meeting to many characters, to many sub plots while also not having the best pacing. Action scenes were great but the plot from one scene to the next was just not what I needed or wanted it to be. I don’t think I will continue with the series. I can see where some people would really enjoy it and maybe the next book would overcome some of the things book one lacked but I think I am good for now.

The month ended on a happy note then gruesome note as I listened to Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella and finished Gerald’s Game by Stephen King.

Shopaholic and Baby was another fun quirky read. Ugh though, sometimes you really want to smack Becky. If only she stopped lying and started asking before assuming things... then again you wouldn’t have Becky (Bloomwood) Brandon. In this installment Becky is going through her pregnancy and on her way to being a yummy mommy in vogue with the perfect new house with rooms such as the pram room, shoe room, visa bill room… On her way to having the perfect pregnancy though she runs into a snafu when the must have OBGYN is Luke’s ex-girlfriend from his college days. Now let the drama begin!

Then there was Gerald’s Game. You would think a book about a women handcuffed to a bed for almost the entirety would be boring, it’s not. Stephen King is a master of horror and bringing about your worst fears and this story is no different. Like most novels by Stephen King though I feel like the ending failed miserably. It dragged out and killed the atmosphere.

Month Overview:

Source:
A = Amazon Top 100 Free
B = Borrowed/Library
BT = Book Tour – Honest Review
F2R = First to Read (Penguin) – Honest Review
G = GoodReads – Honest Review
NG = NetGalley – Honest Review
P = Purchased

Format:
A = Audio
E = E-book
P = Physical

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

October 16-22nd Wrap- Up

Current TBR List: 16
Currently Reading: 10
Books Finished in October: 12

I really need to get my “currently reading” books under control… I was able to finish four books this past week though! So that does help out. I started three more though so…

First book I finished this week was Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen. This was my first book from the author and I really enjoyed it! My twin, @thesexylibrarian over on Instagram, let me borrow/recommended Skinny Dip which is the second book in the series so, of course, I had to get ahold of the first one first!

Mick Stranahan is a former Florida state investigator, beating up a judge, even if he was crooked, did not lead him to be a popular man. There is very little shock when a man shows up to try to kill Mick, he just wants to know the reason why, and fix the bill on his stuffed Marlin head. As he starts investigating the hit man his growing list of enemies continues to rise as well as the body count of people associated with him.

Mick’s character is a little overboard eccentric but the other characters love him and you can’t help but love him too. This story is packed full of bumbling villains and heroes, reality TV stars, crooked politicians and hack job plastic surgeons. I can’t wait for book two!

I then listened to 13 Bullets by David Wellington. I LOVED this cover. It just had terror all over it. I was unfortunately not as impressed with the book itself. I am not sure if it was the audio experience or the writing itself but it was hard for me to like the characters, Arkeley in particular.

State trooper Caxton runs into a nightmare when she is doing a sobriety check and runs into a half dead, the creation of a vampire, but vampires should be extinct. Arkeley is assigned to help Caxton and her small town. Why are the vampires so interested in Caxton, why is Arkeley so interested in Caxton. The ending was a bit of a twist and I was interested to see where the plot was going. I think I will pick up book two to see if it can redeem some of the issues in the first book.

The French Girl by Lexie Elliott. Expected publication date February 20^th, 2018. A free e-book form First to Read in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! A decade after a French girl goes missing she is found, in a filled in well, throwing the group of 6 friends back into the limelight of the investigation. Kate is being haunted by the French girl next door, Severine. What really happened that night? With political pressure opening up the cold case and tension and old hurts pulling apart the once close-knit group secrets are coming to light.

I felt constantly behind in the story. Which is a good thing. Who is who, who did what, what changed that night, what happened before that fateful trip? This was a slow build story but the tension was palpable throughout and kept you frustrated and wanting to know what happened that last night?

I then listened to Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff. This book did not get off to a great start for me. I was a bit bored and was wondering if maybe I should just stop listening and get back to it at another time. Then the plot really starting picking up and I was hooked. I ended up really enjoying this story. Hannah’s best friend died, slowly, right in front of everyone. Lillian now haunts Hannah. The worst pieces of her, the skeletal angry girl right before her slow death from self-starvation. Lillian is not the only young girl to die recently though and not the only one to haunt Hannah. These other girls though were murdered. As the entire city is in turmoil Hannah is fighting to find her place. Who is she now that Lillian is gone? Who is she now as she can’t stop thinking of Finny Boone, the delinquent that once rubbed her face in hard snow. This was a beautiful story and a great mystery with some paranormal haunting involved.  

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

October 9-15th Wrap- Up

Current TBR List: 17
Currently Reading: 10
Books Finished in October: 8

I have severe book commitment issues. My goal in October is to get my currently reading books down to 4. We will see…

I am in a bit of a reading slump. So much so that I am running out of time on borrowed items and having to return them before I am done reading. So a couple of my currently readings are on hold until I can borrow a copy again.

I was able to finish three books this past week though!

First I finished The Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black. I listened to the audio and really enjoyed it. I am not sure if reading it would have been a different experience but I thought the audio went by quickly and it kept me entertained. I did get confused in the world a bit. Cold Town I thought was a bad place and people didn’t want to end up there but I guess with any town some people want to leave and some people want to enter. I thought it was interesting how the current state of the world occurred and I can see this scenario playing out in today’s world as so many people are not aware or do not fully appreciate the extent of consequences that come from their actions. Worth the read (or listen)!

I then read/listened to The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. I LOVED this book. I can’t fully explain why but I do. I borrowed this from a friend so I have added it to my growing list of “books already read that must be purchased”. I loved how the author humanized these characters. I was very uncomfortable with the relationship at the start but you grow to appreciate the characters and what they went through in their various life stages. I used this for my Romance category for Battle Boards

I also read/listed to Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. This was a book I selected back for one on my July categories and it also fits Pennsylvania for the Road Trip Challenge! I enjoyed this story. It is about the Yellow Fever epidemic that hit Pennsylvania and killed thousands of people. The city became isolated as the death toll rose and neighboring towns didn’t want potentially people to spread the disease. The story follows a young girl on the brink of being a woman and shows the crisis that came from the town being cut off from their resources. I used this for my Literature and Fiction category on Battle Boards

Instagram: @shelf.loving

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelfloving

October 1-8th Wrap- Up

October 1-8^th Wrap- Up

Current TBR List: 21
Currently Reading: 8
Books Finished in October: 5

So true to form. My TBR list has already changed. I feel like I am in a huge reading slump even though I am getting books done I am not deriving as much pleasure from them which is sad…I am hoping this is just because work is about to get super busy and stressful.

To start off the month I read Classic Ghost Stories edited by Molly Cooper. I read this for the @thecharmedbookclub bingo challenge over on Instagram. I enjoyed these short stories written by classic authors. Each story started with a brief intro on the author and how that specific piece came to be. I can see where these stories have built into our modern day tropes.

I also enjoyed the illustrations that went with the stories. I think they aligned well with the main point and conveyed the haunted image well.

With all anthologies though I had favorites and least favorites but overall this was a solid 3 star read for me.

I was then able to finish Don’t Let Go by Harlan Coben. This was a free e-book in exchange for an honest review. It was an okay book for me. I liked the overall plot but the execution was a little off on my personal taste. Detective Napolean “Nap” Dumas lost his twin brother one fateful evening in High School. He has forever been changed by that event. To make matters even worse, the one person that might know something has disappeared, until her fingerprints show up. As the body count starts ticking up again 15 years later the conspiracy theories start looking more like fact. What I didn’t like was that Nap talks and narrates to his dead brother. “Leo did you see that, Leo you liked that remember, Leo she used to do this, etc”.

I think I will try another of Harlan Coben’s novels since I did enjoy the overall story he told. I was able to use this to satisfy my first Road Trip square for “New Jersey” as well as my Mystery/Thriller category for the playoff rounds (both of these are @thecharmedbookclub challenges!)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was my next read. I used it for the Young Adult category on the battle boards!

I can see why this is marked as young adult and why a lot of readers loved this book. I personally loved The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah more but that was more adult and I was better able to connect to the characters. That being said, The Book Thief was a really good book. I liked that it was told from Death’s perspective and followed Liesel almost exclusively. The side stories into the other characters were a nice touch. This is a story about a young foster girl living outside of Munich. It starts before Hitler was fully in power through to the end of his terrorist reign. It shows that the hews suffered but so did German citizens that dared to stand up for basic human rights. I think I loved Liesel’s foster father, Hans Hubermann, more than I loved her character.

Liesel loses her brother on her way to her foster family. As he is being buried she finds a book in the snow, The Gravedigger’s Handbook. As her nightmares grow Hans Huberman steps in and teaches her how to read from this book. As the war progresses and resources grow ever more scarce Liesel still manages to steal other books or are gifted them on special occasions. As she learns to read she shares them with her neighbors during bombing raids and the Jewish man hidden in her basement. I loved the importance that is placed on books and how they can keep light even in the darkest places. Books saved these people just as they saved me. It was very emotional read.

More creepy books for October, I listened to the audio book for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This is a classic for a reason and I loved it as much as I did the first time I read it. I love the idea that multiple personalities can live in one body and not only distort the mind they inhabit but the physical appearance as well. Dr. Jekyll is a strong tall man and his twisted counterpart is small in stature. This is such a short story I would have loved for it to be longer but I guess it would have lost a lot of its appeal?

To finish the week I finished another bingo book, We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. I absolutely loved this book and have no idea why it took me so long to get around to reading it. Merricat lives on an estate with her sister Constance, Uncle Julian and cat Jonas. They live very secluded lives after her sister is acquitted of murdering her entire family using arsenic laced sugar. They are content in their isolation until their Cousin Charles arrives. Merricat will do anything to keep her sister safe from the threat she sees in him.

This book is short but packed with horror. Read it slowly, carefully. Look at what the characters do and say. I can see why some people do not find it eerie if they do not pay attention to the little details.