Stacking the Shelves [22] & The Sunday Post [19]

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s reviews

Another week? Wow! It’s just flown past! Most of the books in this haul I got yesterday! And I know that I have a book waiting for me at the library, (I’ve been waiting months and MONTHS for it!) but seeing as I don’t have in my hands, I can’t add it 😦

Links go to Goodreads unless stated!

Borrowed from Library:

City of Masks by Mary Hoffman

Lucien is seriously ill but his life is transformed when an old Italian notebook gives him the power to become a stravagante, a time traveller with access to 16th century Italy. He wakes up in Bellezza (Venice) during carnival time and meets Arianna, a girl his own age who is disguised as a boy in the hope of being selected as one of the Duchessa’s mandoliers. Arianna gives Lucien her boy’s clothing and he is selected as a mandolier himself, becoming a friend of fellow-stravagante Rodolfo, the Duchessa’s lover, and saving the Duchessa’s life when she is threatened by an assassin hired by the powerful di Chimici family. For state occasions the Duchessa uses her maid Giuliana as a body-double but Guiliana commits the fatal mistake of revealing the secret to her fiance Enrico and a sequence of devastating consequences unravels. Meanwhile Lucien has met the original stravagante, the Elizabethan alchemist William Dethridge, and he begins to understand that he may be called to follow in his footsteps.

***

I’ve heard a lot about this series, and I’m pretty sure that I’ve read books by Hoffman before. Plus this series sounds AWESOME! Not sure about the creept covers though 😦

 

When The Duke Found Love by Isabella Bradford

The youngest of the Wylder girls–and the last left unwed–Lady Diana is also the most willful, a trait that’s leading her ever closer to dishonorable disaster. While her family’s solution is a fast and excruciatingly respectable marriage, Diana can’t imagine being wed to the very staid and dull Lord Crump. But while wedding plans are being made, a chance meeting at a gala turns Diana’s world upside down.
A kiss from a dazzling stranger gives Diana a most intimate introduction to one of the “ton”‘s most resolute and scandalous bachelors, the Duke of Sheffield. Torn between family duty and her heart’s desire, Diana recklessly surrenders to the headiest of passions, recognizing that she has found a kindred soul in the handsome young duke. Soon it’s clear that seduction is no longer the game: Something deep and lasting has come to bind their hearts, and the stakes are nothing less than true love.

***

Historical!!! Love that dress! But her hands look very CGI’d on the print copy. I’ve already read this and LOVED it. It’s not Lisa Kleypas, but it’s very good! Can’t wait to read the first books in the series!

Purchased by ME!

 You Against Me by Jenny Downham

If someone hurts your sister and you’re any kind of man, you seek revenge, right?

If your brother’s accused of a terrible crime but says he didn’t do it, you defend him, don’t you?

When Mikey’s sister claims a boy assaulted her, his world begins to fall apart.

When Ellie’s brother is charged with the offence, her world begins to unravel.

When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.

***

This was super cheap at a charity shop so I grabbed it! No creased spine either! Seriosuly, it looks brand new 🙂

Revenge Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

Revenge Wears Prada picks up eight years after Andy parted ways with Miranda on bad terms. Andy is now editing The Plunge, the hottest bridal magazine around, alongside Emily, her one-time Runway nemesis turned current BFF. While Andy is planning her own wedding to Max, a handsome media scion, she remains haunted by her impeccably heeled former boss — and the magazine world being as small as it is, it’s only a matter of time before she hears the dreaded syllables “Ahn-dre-ah!” again.

***

I bought this more for my Mum than for me…but I will read it! I’ve seen the film, Devil Wears Prada, and own the book, but haven’t read it yet. I want to read THAT before THIS. Another bargain…less than £3 at Tescos!

 

For Review:

The Athena Effect by Derrolyn Anderson

Country girl Cali has been kept a secret her entire life, raised in isolation by two very troubled people. Despite her parent’s disturbing fits, Cal is perfectly content to live as one with the nature that surrounds her, finding adventure inside the pages of her beloved books. When an awful tragedy tears her away from her remote cabin in the woods, nothing she’s ever read has prepared her for a world that she knows very little about.

Girls and motorcycles are what bad-boy Cal’s life is all about. Brought up in a raucous party house by his biker brother, he’s free to do as he pleases, going through the motions on his final days of high school. Aimless, Cal stopped thinking about his future a long time ago.

Attacked by a gang of thugs while running an errand for his brother, Cal is in serious trouble until a fierce girl appears out of nowhere to intervene. She chases off three grown men, sparing Cal a brutal beating before disappearing into the night like a spirit. He can’t stop thinking about his mysterious rescuer, and when she turns out to be the weird new girl at school who goes out of her way to avoid him, he can’t contain his curiosity.

He’s never met anyone like her before, and the more he learns about the unusual girl who shares his nickname, the more he wants to know. Cal can’t help falling for Cal, but can he keep her from falling victim to a dangerous enemy from her parent’s tragic past?

***

Derrolyn contacted me and asked if I would review The Athena Effect and I gladly said yes! It looks awesome!

 

By Blood by Tracy E. Banghart

For 17-year-old Emma Wong, spending a summer in England should be a dream come true. Gorgeous scenery? Check. Lots of hot guys with accents? Yes, please.

Throw in an estranged mom, annoying new stepdad, and drooling baby half-brother, and it’s a disaster even her favorite cherry red leather jacket can’t fix. Even worse, there’s (hot) live-in research assistant Josh to contend with. The only thing more embarrassing than drunk-kissing him hours after they meet? Knowing he’ll be witness to her family’s dysfunction all. summer. long.

But when Emma meets a mysterious girl who happens to be a Druid, her vacation suddenly promises to be far more intriguing than she anticipated. Powerful rituals, new friends, an intoxicating sense of freedom…and Simon, the sexy foreign stranger she was hoping for. It’s all a perfect distraction from dirty diapers and awkward family dinners.

Trouble is, intriguing doesn’t often mean simple. And Emma is about to discover just how not simple her life really is.

Love Unbroken by Victoria Bright

Love…it can be a beautiful dream or a disastrous nightmare. What happens to a love bond that is constantly strained by lies, betrayal, cheating, and pain? Will it eventually corrode, or will love and trust keep it together?

Camille Anderson, a beautiful, sassy, curly-haired college student only has eyes for one man, Ahmad. She sees herself with no one else…that is until she meets Keith, her new study partner. Will she be able to fight temptation or will one small mistake cause her to lose Ahmad’s trust and their relationships?

Ahmad Dawson, a sizzling hot, athletic personal trainer is obsessed with his girlfriend Camille. Not really the marriage type of guy, he is considering changing that mentality for her. Things were going smooth until Kelly, one of his clients, began to intrude on his relationship as well as his career. Will the desire of promotion lead him to do things that he shouldn’t? Or will he stay true to his woman and his values?

The new people in Ahmad and Camille’s lives are starting to create chaos and are slowly tearing them apart. After a deceptive plan is put into action, everything is turned upside down. Will this bring Ahmad and Camille closer together? Or has enough damage been broken to break their bond?

Manic by JA Huss

TRAGIC is over and Rook is ready for the future—Spencer Shrike and the STURGIS contract!

It’s three months of body art modeling! That means three months of Spencer Shrike’s paintbrush all over her body, three months in front of Antoine’s camera, and three months of twenty-four hour filming for Spencer’s Biker Channel reality show.

Wait a minute…what reality show? Maybe she should’ve read that STURGIS contract a little closer? 😉

Sure, Rook’s bank account is almost overflowing, but Ronin is angry, Clare is trying to escape rehab, Antoine is a worried mess, and Elise is just trying to hold everyone together. Her new family is about to fall apart before she even gets the chance to enjoy them.

Add in a mysterious man from her past, a road trip to the famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and a final show in front of the entire world where all her good are on display, and you’ve got Manic—a new adult contemporary romance that will definitely make your summer sizzle!

***

Really excited for this one! I read Tragic and LOVED it! And THIS cover is more fitting for a NA novel 🙂

 

Steel Lily by Megan Curd

AVERY PIKE is a commodity. No, more than a commodity. Her existence is guarded at all costs.

She’s a water Elementalist, the strongest of her dwindling kind. She creates steam to provide energy to fuel Dome Three: the only thing standing between humanity and an earth ravaged by World War III. No steam, no Dome. No Dome, no life.

Or so she thinks.

That is, until a mysterious man offers her a way out of having to donate steam. A way to escape the corrupt government of Dome Three. While the offer seems too good to be true, Avery is intrigued.

But when she arrives to her new home, she realizes the grass isn’t any less dead on this side of the fence. Instead, the lies are just hidden better.

…Which means digging deeper.

When Avery enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth, it may make her wonder if she was better off being a government tool than searching for freedom.

Some secrets are better left concealed, but humankind was never meant to live in a cage. And when you can control the most sought after resource, you can learn to control anything…including the fate of your world.

***

This landed in my kindle this morning! This just looks so good I get excited everytime I read the synopsis!

And they are the books that I got this week! Feel free to leave your links below!

Books Read:

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

5/5

Indelible by Bethany Lopez

4/5

 

 The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

5/5

 

Catching Liam by Sophia Bleu

1/5

 

Plastic Hearts by Lisa De Jong

1/5

When The Duke Found Love by Isabella Bradford

5/5

Books Reviewed: 

Opal (Lux, #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Dusk by Eve Edwards

Anomaly by Krista McGee

Other Posts:

Blog Tour + GIVEAWAY: Addicted to You by Krista & Becca Ritchie

Cover Reveal: No One’s Angel by Kelly Walker

Upcoming:

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory [Review tomorrow!]

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Indelible by Bethany Lopez

Identified by Faith by A. Rice-Mills

Cathcing Liam by Sophia Bleu [Promo Post]

When The Duke Found Love by Isabella Bradford

Life Updates:

• Going to a BBQ tonight!
• I got a new phone cover!
• I bought a Sudoku puzzle book in town yesterday. Because I like SUDOKU! But can’t say it without thinking of Count Dooku from Star Wars! Ha!
• I’m going to watch the second episode of The White Queen today. I saw the first a few days ago but didn’t get round to watching the second. On that not I’ll leave you with a pic of Max Irons. WHY THE HELL NOT??