Yes. This month is the month of books. I bought and/or received 30 books for July. You read that right. Some of it was me in a Dollar Tree with money, and then me ordering books for read-alongs, then me deciding that since I have the money I would treat myself to a BookOutlet order. Yeah. That happened...
With no further adieus, let's list the books that I got in July~
Book #1: Gone to Dust by Liliana Hart
I bought this as a bag-book. You know, a thinner mass market that would fit in pretty much any purse I decided to put it in. This one features a novelist as the main character and while I don't necessarily like adult contemporary romance novels, I thought I'd give this one a try. I dunno...
Book #2: Andrew's Brain by E.L. Doctorow
Speaking from an
unknown place and to an unknown interlocutor, Andrew is thinking,
Andrew is talking, Andrew is telling the story of his life, his
loves, and the tragedies that have led him to this place and point in
time. As he peels back the layers of his strange story, we are led to
question what we know about truth and memory, brain and mind,
personality and fate, about one another and ourselves. Probing,
mischievous, and profound, Andrew’s
Brain is a singular achievement in the canon of an
American master.
When Kennedy Waters
finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t
know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones
pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas
Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit
sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an
ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a
vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on
the same night. Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the
Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with
new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only
weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the
deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.
The year is 1906, and
twelve-year-old Violet Blake unearths an ancient talisman—a copper
hand—beside the stream where her mother used to harvest medicine.
Violet’s touch warms the copper hand and it begins to reveal
glimpses of another time. Violet is certain that the copper hand is
magic—and if anyone is in need of its powers, it’s Violet. Her
mother and adored baby brother are gone, perhaps never to return. Her
heartbroken father can’t seem to sustain the failing farm on the
outskirts of Pigeon Harbor, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Surely
the magic of the copper hand can make things right for Violet and
restore her fractured family. Violet makes a wish. But her ignorant
carelessness unleashes formidable powers—and her attempts to
control them jeopardizes not only herself, but the entire town of
Pigeon Harbor.
History reveals itself
when, in the seventeenth century, a Jesuit missionary ventures into
the Canadian wilderness in search of converts-the defining moment of
first contact between radically different worlds. What unfolds over
the next several years is truly epic, constantly illuminating and
surprising, sometimes comic, always entrancing and ultimately all too
human in its tragic grandeur. Christophe has been in the New World
only a year when his native guides abandon him to flee their Iroquois
pursuers. A Huron warrior and elder named Bird soon takes him
prisoner, along with a young Iroquois girl, Snow Falls, whose family
he has just killed, and holds them captive in his massive village.
Champlain's Iron People have only recently begun trading with the
Huron, who mistrust them as well as this Crow who has now trespassed
onto their land; and her people, of course, have become the Huron's
greatest enemy. Putting both to death would resolve the issue, but
Bird sees Christophe as a potential envoy to those in New France, and
Snow Falls as a replacement for his two daughters who were murdered
by the Iroquois. The relationships between these three are reshaped
again and again as life comes at them relentlessly: a dangerous
trading mission, friendly exchanges with allied tribes, shocking
victories and defeats in battle, and sicknesses the likes of which no
one has ever witnessed.
Catherine's last job
ended badly. Corporate bullying at a top television production
company saw her fired and forced to leave London, but she was
determined to get her life back. A new job and now things look much
brighter. Especially when a challenging new project presents itself
-- to catalogue the late M H Mason's wildly eccentric cache of
antique dolls and puppets. Rarest of all, she'll get to examine his
elaborate displays of posed, costumed and preserved animals,
depicting scenes from World War I. When Mason's elderly niece invites
her to stay at the Red House itself, where she maintains the
collection, Catherine can't believe her luck. Until his niece exposes
her to the dark message behind her uncle's 'Art'. Catherine tries to
concentrate on the job, but M H Mason's damaged visions raise dark
shadows from her own past. Shadows she'd hoped had finally been
erased. Soon the barriers between reality, sanity and memory start to
merge. And some truths seem too terrible to be real...
The Gods are dying.
Fifteen thousand years after the end of their war, their bodies can
still be found across the world. They kneel in forests, lie beneath
mountains, and rest at the bottom of the world's ocean. For thousands
of years, men and women have awoken with strange powers that are
derived from their bodies. The city Mireea is built against a huge
stone wall that stretches across a vast mountain range, following the
massive fallen body of the god, Ger. Ayae, a young cartographer’s
apprentice, is attacked and discovers she cannot be harmed by fire.
Her new power makes her a target for an army that is marching on
Mireea. With the help of Zaifyr, a strange man adorned with charms,
she is taught the awful history of ‘cursed’ men and women, coming
to grips with her new powers and the enemies they make. Meanwhile,
the saboteur Bueralan infiltrates the army that is approaching her
home to learn its terrible secret.
When a tsunami rages
through their coastal town in India, 17-year-old Ahalya Ghai and her
15-year-old sister Sita are left orphaned and homeless. With almost
everyone they know suddenly erased from the face of the earth, the
girls set out for the convent where they attend school. They are
abducted almost immediately and sold to a Mumbai brothel owner,
beginning a hellish descent into the bowels of the sex trade. Halfway
across the world, Washington, D.C., attorney Thomas Clarke faces his
own personal and professional crisis-and makes the fateful decision
to pursue a pro bono sabbatical working in India for an NGO that
prosecutes the subcontinent's human traffickers. There, his
conscience awakens as he sees firsthand the horrors of the trade in
human flesh, and the corrupt judicial system that fosters it.
Learning of the fate of Ahalya and Sita, Clarke makes it his personal
mission to rescue them, setting the stage for a riveting showdown
with an international network of ruthless criminals.
I'm telling you. I'm just in it for the thrillers this month. Another thriller. This time about the sex trafficking trade. I really need to start reading happier books....
Book #13: Slaughter by James Beltz
Nara Collins is an
average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams
the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara
avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a
future she can’t ignore. After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue
Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while
people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high
rate. Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent
another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who
seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an
irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do
her questions about his dark past.
He’s just a
teenager, hollow and lost, looking to keep the past buried, to
forget. He surfs the backwash of the westward migration across a dead
America; a war-torn desolation devoid of electricity, infrastructure
and civilization. It has become a strange and unrecognizable land,
rife with the worst of humanity. And his is a life without hope,
equally dark and solitary. Until he meets Feral. Once was boy,
selfish and directionless. Now is love. Now is reason. Now is
vengeance. She is his vow, his purpose, and to save her, he'll murder
the world.
The only daughter of a
prominent samurai, Mariko has always known she’d been raised for
one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. Never mind her cunning,
which rivals that of her twin brother, Kenshin, or her skills as an
accomplished alchemist. Since Mariko was not born a boy, her fate was
sealed the moment she drew her first breath. So, at just seventeen
years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her
betrothed, a man she did not choose, for the very first time. But the
journey is cut short when Mariko’s convoy is viciously attacked by
the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits who’ve been hired to
kill Mariko before she reaches the palace. The lone survivor, Mariko
narrowly escapes to the woods, where she plots her revenge. Dressed
as a peasant boy, she sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and hunt
down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she’s
within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she’s
appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself
falling in love—a love that will force her to question everything
she’s ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest
desires.
With no further adieus, let's list the books that I got in July~
Book #1: Gone to Dust by Liliana Hart
The Gravediggers
aren’t exactly what they seem. They’re the most elite of the
world’s fighting forces—and all they have in common is that
they’ve been betrayed by the countries they’ve died for. Because
they are dead. To their country, their military, and their families.
Sometimes the dead do rise....Miller Darling is one of the most
popular romance novelists of her time. Not bad for a woman who
doesn’t believe in romance. She’s as logical as they come, and
she doesn’t believe in happily-ever-afters. What she does believe
in is family, so when her brother disappears, she doesn’t think
twice about packing her bag and her laptop and heading out to find
him. Elias Cole lived and breathed the life of a Navy SEAL. Now he’s
“dead” and his hero’s honor tarnished. The only thing keeping
him sane are the men who are like him—The Gravediggers—and the
woman who makes his head spin. He’s never met anyone like Miller
Darling. Her smart mouth and quick wit keep him on his toes, and
damned if he doesn’t find that appealing. When Miller receives a
package from the brother who abandoned her asking for help, it’s
clear she’s in over her head with the mess he’s gotten himself
into. She needs a professional, and Elias is just the man for the
job. Only her brother is a former SEAL—the man who left his team to
die—and Elias is more interested in vengeance than saving his life.
I bought this as a bag-book. You know, a thinner mass market that would fit in pretty much any purse I decided to put it in. This one features a novelist as the main character and while I don't necessarily like adult contemporary romance novels, I thought I'd give this one a try. I dunno...
Book #2: Andrew's Brain by E.L. Doctorow
Speaking from an
unknown place and to an unknown interlocutor, Andrew is thinking,
Andrew is talking, Andrew is telling the story of his life, his
loves, and the tragedies that have led him to this place and point in
time. As he peels back the layers of his strange story, we are led to
question what we know about truth and memory, brain and mind,
personality and fate, about one another and ourselves. Probing,
mischievous, and profound, Andrew’s
Brain is a singular achievement in the canon of an
American master.
I was wandering in a Dollar Tree (where everything's a dollar!) and happened to meander into the book section. The Dollar Tree where we were has a much better selection than the one where I live. KS saw this and told me I should read it because she thought E.L. Doctorow was a really good writer. I said "Sure, why not?" and picked it up. It does look really interesting.
Book #3: Coming Out to Play by Robbie Rogers
Robbie Rogers knows
better than most that keeping secrets can crush you. But for much of
his life Robbie lived in paralyzing fear that sharing his big secret
would cost him the love of his family and his career as a
professional soccer player. So he never told anyone what was
destroying his soul, both on and off the field. While the world
around Robbie was changing with breathtaking speed, he knew that for
a gay man playing a professional team sport it might as well be 1958.
He could be a professional soccer player. Or he could be an out gay
man. He couldn’t do both. Then last year, at the age of twenty-five
and after nearly stepping away from a brilliant career—one that
included an NCAA Championship, winning the MLS Cup, and competing in
the Olympics—he chose to tell the truth. But instead of facing the
rejection he feared, he was embraced—by his family, by his
teammates, and his fans. In Coming
Out to Play, Robbie takes readers on his incredible
journey from terrified teenager to a trailblazing out and proud
professional soccer player for the L.A. Galaxy, who has embraced his
new identity as a role model and champion for those still struggling
with the secrets that keep them from living their dreams.
It was on sale and I wanted it. I thought it would be an interesting read to use as inspiration/research material for a fanfiction story I'm working on. Sort of. Really just what goes through the mind of someone who is gay and in sports. This is one of the books on my TBR for Biannual Bibliothon.
Book #4: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia
When Kennedy Waters
finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t
know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones
pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas
Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit
sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an
ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a
vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on
the same night. Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the
Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with
new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only
weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the
deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.
I know Kami Garcia is rather popular of an author, and I found this in the Dollar Tree (Yeah 11/30 are from the Dollar Tree) and since it was the first in the series I figured I'd give it a try. It looks epic. I've included this one in my TBR for the BookTube-a-thon.
Book #5: Copper Magic by Julia Mary Gibson
The year is 1906, and
twelve-year-old Violet Blake unearths an ancient talisman—a copper
hand—beside the stream where her mother used to harvest medicine.
Violet’s touch warms the copper hand and it begins to reveal
glimpses of another time. Violet is certain that the copper hand is
magic—and if anyone is in need of its powers, it’s Violet. Her
mother and adored baby brother are gone, perhaps never to return. Her
heartbroken father can’t seem to sustain the failing farm on the
outskirts of Pigeon Harbor, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Surely
the magic of the copper hand can make things right for Violet and
restore her fractured family. Violet makes a wish. But her ignorant
carelessness unleashes formidable powers—and her attempts to
control them jeopardizes not only herself, but the entire town of
Pigeon Harbor.
I don't know. I have no actual reasoning behind this. I just, I wanted it. Yeah, I have no idea what it's about past what the blurb says. It's historical fiction which is something I love so I bought it. Plus, it was only a dollar, so, I have no excuse.
Book #6: The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
History reveals itself
when, in the seventeenth century, a Jesuit missionary ventures into
the Canadian wilderness in search of converts-the defining moment of
first contact between radically different worlds. What unfolds over
the next several years is truly epic, constantly illuminating and
surprising, sometimes comic, always entrancing and ultimately all too
human in its tragic grandeur. Christophe has been in the New World
only a year when his native guides abandon him to flee their Iroquois
pursuers. A Huron warrior and elder named Bird soon takes him
prisoner, along with a young Iroquois girl, Snow Falls, whose family
he has just killed, and holds them captive in his massive village.
Champlain's Iron People have only recently begun trading with the
Huron, who mistrust them as well as this Crow who has now trespassed
onto their land; and her people, of course, have become the Huron's
greatest enemy. Putting both to death would resolve the issue, but
Bird sees Christophe as a potential envoy to those in New France, and
Snow Falls as a replacement for his two daughters who were murdered
by the Iroquois. The relationships between these three are reshaped
again and again as life comes at them relentlessly: a dangerous
trading mission, friendly exchanges with allied tribes, shocking
victories and defeats in battle, and sicknesses the likes of which no
one has ever witnessed.
Okay, I bought this one because I recognized the word on the cover. From what my memory tells me..."orenda" is a word that means something akin to spiritual energy (in Star Wars they called it The Force), and I like things that involve Native Americans. I can't wait to get to this.
Book #7: Night Heron by Adam Brookes
A lone man, Peanut,
escapes a labor camp in the dead of night, fleeing across the winter
desert of north-west China. Two decades earlier, he was a spy for the
British; now Peanut must disappear on Beijing's
surveillance-blanketed streets. Desperate and ruthless, he reaches
out to his one-time MI6 paymasters via crusading journalist Philip
Mangan, offering military secrets in return for extraction. But
the secrets prove more valuable than Peanut or Mangan could ever have
known... and not only to the British.
Firstly, who names their child Peanut? That's just asking for a terrible time in middle school. Secondly, I bought this because China. You'll see a lot of Asian-related books show up on my list. Either by Asian authors or somehow related to Asian culture. I have read Soundless by Richelle Mead, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Here's hoping this is another book that is put in the 4-5 star ranks of Goodreads.
Book #8: The House of Small Things by Adam Nevill
Catherine's last job
ended badly. Corporate bullying at a top television production
company saw her fired and forced to leave London, but she was
determined to get her life back. A new job and now things look much
brighter. Especially when a challenging new project presents itself
-- to catalogue the late M H Mason's wildly eccentric cache of
antique dolls and puppets. Rarest of all, she'll get to examine his
elaborate displays of posed, costumed and preserved animals,
depicting scenes from World War I. When Mason's elderly niece invites
her to stay at the Red House itself, where she maintains the
collection, Catherine can't believe her luck. Until his niece exposes
her to the dark message behind her uncle's 'Art'. Catherine tries to
concentrate on the job, but M H Mason's damaged visions raise dark
shadows from her own past. Shadows she'd hoped had finally been
erased. Soon the barriers between reality, sanity and memory start to
merge. And some truths seem too terrible to be real...
I've been getting into adult thriller novels recently, and this one just freaked me out with the broken baby dolls on the cover. Porcelain/ceramic dolls have always just given me the creeps. Bleh. This is looking like it's going to be one of the best thrillers I read this year.
Book #9: Cartwheel by Jennifer duBois
When Lily Hayes
arrives in Buenos Aires for her semester abroad, she is enchanted by
everything she encounters: the colorful buildings, the street food,
the handsome, elusive man next door. Her studious roommate Katy is a
bit of a bore, but Lily didn’t come to Argentina to hang out with
other Americans. Five weeks later, Katy is found brutally murdered in
their shared home, and Lily is the prime suspect. But who is Lily
Hayes? It depends on who’s asking. As the case takes
shape—revealing deceptions, secrets, and suspicious DNA—Lily
appears alternately sinister and guileless through the eyes of those
around her: the media, her family, the man who loves her and the man
who seeks her conviction. With mordant wit and keen emotional
insight, Cartwheel
offers a prismatic investigation of the ways we decide what to
see—and to believe—in one another and ourselves.
Another book in the adult mystery/thriller section that I thought would be good to give a try to. Plus, it was cheap. Really cheap.
Book #10: The Godless by Ben Peek
The Gods are dying.
Fifteen thousand years after the end of their war, their bodies can
still be found across the world. They kneel in forests, lie beneath
mountains, and rest at the bottom of the world's ocean. For thousands
of years, men and women have awoken with strange powers that are
derived from their bodies. The city Mireea is built against a huge
stone wall that stretches across a vast mountain range, following the
massive fallen body of the god, Ger. Ayae, a young cartographer’s
apprentice, is attacked and discovers she cannot be harmed by fire.
Her new power makes her a target for an army that is marching on
Mireea. With the help of Zaifyr, a strange man adorned with charms,
she is taught the awful history of ‘cursed’ men and women, coming
to grips with her new powers and the enemies they make. Meanwhile,
the saboteur Bueralan infiltrates the army that is approaching her
home to learn its terrible secret.
It looked good. I can't figure out if it's an adult or young adult book, but it looks epic. I love books like this. It should be a brilliant fantasy read. I mean, I can't pronounce most of the words on that synopsis, so it ought to be fantastic.
Book #11: Iron Winter by Stephen Baxter
It is 1315. And
darkness is falling...Many generations ago the Wall was first built
to hold back the sea. Northland, a country of fertile plains and
ancient forests rescued from the ocean, has become a thriving
civilisation based on trade, technology and tradition, centred on the
ancient home of the first builders, Etxelur. The whole of Europe,
spanned by the Northlanders' steam caravan lines, has been changed in
ways that could never have been predicted. But nothing can last
forever, not even the Wall. The weather is changing, growing colder,
and in the wake of the long winters come famine, destruction and
terror. And as whole nations are forced out of their lands and head
for warmer climes, it seems that even Northland may not be able to
endure. But there is one man, an elderly scholar, who believes he can
calculate why the world is cooling, and perhaps even salvage some
scraps of the great civilisation of Etxelur. As he embarks on his
grand quest across the world, as nations struggle for survival and
the fires of war burn in the gloom, only one thing is certain. The
Ice is coming.
Another book where I can't pronounce most of the words. This one was KS's doing. I was trying to check Goodreads to see if it was the first in the series, and she was like "Buy it anyway, if it's not you have a good excuse to buy the others." Turns out this one is the third in the series. The first being Stone Spring and the second Bronze Summer. Yeah. Of course now I will have to buy them as well. Maybe next month.
Book #12: A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison
I'm telling you. I'm just in it for the thrillers this month. Another thriller. This time about the sex trafficking trade. I really need to start reading happier books....
Book #13: Slaughter by James Beltz
David John Slaughter,
or DJ as he prefers to be called, is just your normal, everyday,
average guy. He could be your next door neighbor. Life ambushed him
years ago and left him bitter and broken. Now, life threatens him
once more. But this time, he is more prepared. This time, he has the
skills to fight back. This time, he is just as lethal as the enemy
that pursues him. Prepare yourself for an action packed thrill ride.
Complete with heroic deeds, a bit of humor, a dash of romance, a few
unexpected twists, and an ending that may make you hurl something
across the room.
I have no idea. A friend, JB, on Facebook, posted this and suggested that we check out the sample. It was on sale for only $1.99, so I just grabbed it. It's pretty good so far. DJ is not the kind of person that one messes with. He will mess up your crap if you mess with him. I like it.
Book #14: Brightest Kind of Darkness by P.T. Michelle
Nara Collins is an
average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams
the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara
avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a
future she can’t ignore. After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue
Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while
people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high
rate. Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent
another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who
seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an
irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do
her questions about his dark past.
No clue. I probably just bought this because it was free. It does better fit one of the themes from the yearly reading challenge though. A book with antonyms in the title. I think "bright" and "dark" make for perfect antonyms, don't you?
Book #15: The Tainted Crown by by Meg Cowley
What is the price of
kingship? The kingdom of Caledan is thrown into turmoil by the
queen’s murder. Her heir, Soren, flees with a price on his head
after being framed for the killing by his uncle Zaki, who seizes the
legendary throne of the Dragon Kings and rules with an iron fist to
crush dissent. However, suspicion is rife following Zaki’s
ill-omened coronation and a crime ill-fitting the beloved Prince
Soren. Now a fugitive roaming the wild, Soren has lost everything. He
tries to reconcile his grief and determine how he can reclaim his
throne when fate has left him with just one old man, but the odds are
greatly against him. If no-one follows him, or believes his
innocence, is he worthy to rule? Across the kingdom, Soren’s
cousin Eve takes matters into her own hands and journeys to the
ethereal Eldarkind on his behalf, however this reveals her own
inescapable fate. As she comes to terms with the gift and the curse
of magic, Eve risks her life to help Soren. Before the fragile peace
shatters, can Soren reclaim the throne - and should he?
Yay! More words I couldn't pronounce out loud if I wanted to. I grabbed this also because it was free. I don't know a lot of why I do this. I just see free books and click "buy now" without really looking at what they are about. This is how I end up with books like The Tainted Crown.
Book #16: Feral by P.J. Post
He’s just a
teenager, hollow and lost, looking to keep the past buried, to
forget. He surfs the backwash of the westward migration across a dead
America; a war-torn desolation devoid of electricity, infrastructure
and civilization. It has become a strange and unrecognizable land,
rife with the worst of humanity. And his is a life without hope,
equally dark and solitary. Until he meets Feral. Once was boy,
selfish and directionless. Now is love. Now is reason. Now is
vengeance. She is his vow, his purpose, and to save her, he'll murder
the world.
See, this is one of those books that I didn't bother to read the synopsis of, but it looks great. It's a dystopian....YA...? Dunno. It looks good though. I should be more discerning when it comes to the books I buy, maybe then I wouldn't end up with literally 1200+ Kindle books that I'm likely to never read. I will try to put this one up soon-ish on the list, but I say that for all of them. I could be lying. I have no idea.
Book #17: The Far Shore
Stuck in a dead-end
job, single, and discontented, Lily receives a most unexpected
visitor: an “heir finder” who informs her she is the sole
beneficiary to an unclaimed fortune—$16 million left behind by a
grandfather she never met. The boon comes with a caveat: the money
can only be claimed if the remains of her grandfather—a man who
went missing in action in World War Two—are located and he’s
proven legally dead. The Far Shore follows Lily as she embarks on a
global odyssey—from the shores of South Carolina, to the deepest
jungles of Myanmar—in a quest for answers. In the process, she
uncovers an incredible story—that of a stricken, shell-shocked
soldier who left the battlefield and went to the ends of the earth in
an attempt to answer the age-old questions of mankind: Why do we
suffer? Is there a God? Is there a way out? It is a journey that will
change Lily forever; for, like her grandfather, she finds herself
going further afield in search of answers, deeper into harm’s way,
into both the unmapped places of the world and of the heart, where
she will find either unimaginable wisdom and wealth . . . or madness
and death.
I like mysteries, what can I say. My sister and I used to watch Prison Break together and this is by the same guy. I think it's one of those books that you'll like without actually wanting to like. The kind you'll also hate with every fiber of your being because it's that good.
Book #18: Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh
The only daughter of a
prominent samurai, Mariko has always known she’d been raised for
one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. Never mind her cunning,
which rivals that of her twin brother, Kenshin, or her skills as an
accomplished alchemist. Since Mariko was not born a boy, her fate was
sealed the moment she drew her first breath. So, at just seventeen
years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her
betrothed, a man she did not choose, for the very first time. But the
journey is cut short when Mariko’s convoy is viciously attacked by
the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits who’ve been hired to
kill Mariko before she reaches the palace. The lone survivor, Mariko
narrowly escapes to the woods, where she plots her revenge. Dressed
as a peasant boy, she sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and hunt
down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she’s
within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she’s
appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself
falling in love—a love that will force her to question everything
she’s ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest
desires.
This was purchased for the Biannual Bibliothon Summer 2017 read-along. It's the group book that was chosen and I figure, hey, I have the money and I love the premise...so I treated myself to a book. This one looks amazing. I hope it's as good as it looks and with my love of Japanese culture, I can actually pronounce these foreign words!
Book #19: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Cas Lowood has
inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father
before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to
kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas
travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their
spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the
murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at
bay. Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas
expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl
entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before.
She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in
1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her
death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step
into the deserted Victorian she used to call home. Yet she spares
Cas's life.
Friend of mine, JC, told me he thought we should do a buddy read of this. I said okay, and bought a copy. Only to find out that he doesn't have a copy and has already read it. He thinks I'll like it though. He's just lucky that I wanted a copy of this for myself any way or I might be mad at him. I even sprung for the hardcover copy.
Book #20: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
It's been months since
Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the
Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally,
they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect.
The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the
worsening aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence,
Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way
to save them both. Threatened by false friends and powerful
temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, can their love survive through
the ever night?
What if all the
crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at
once? Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a
hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone
else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy
she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her
heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real
life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her
secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes
from imaginary to out of control.
When writer Arthur
Ransome leaves his home in England and moves to Russia to work as a
journalist, it is with little idea of the violent revolution about to
erupt. Unwittingly, he finds himself at its center, tapped by the
British to report back on the Bolsheviks even as he becomes
dangerously romantically entangled with revolutionary leader
Trotsky’s personal secretary. Both sides seek to use Arthur for
their own purposes…and, as he struggles to find autonomy, both
sides grow to suspect him of being a double agent. Arthur wants only
to elope far from the conflict with his beloved. But when he attempts
to extract himself and Evgenia from the complicated politics and
politicians that he fears will lead them both to their deaths, the
decisions he faces are the most dangerous and difficult of his life.
It’s been three
months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra,
disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell. Meira just wants
her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to
dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and
possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees
this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can
finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger
the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much
magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the
two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the
chasm’s secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to
keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with
Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves?
Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians
hang fresh and raw in Januari—leaving Winter vulnerable to
Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for
allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands.
Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats?
As the web of power and deception weaves tighter, Theron fights for
magic, Mather fights for freedom—and Meira starts to wonder if she
should be fighting not just for Winter, but for the world.
NEW YORK CITY AS
YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE. A thousand-story tower stretching into
the sky. A glittering vision of the future where anything is
possible—if you want it enough. WELCOME TO MANHATTAN, 2118. A
hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and
dreams. Everyone there wants something…and everyone has something
to lose. LEDA COLE’s flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to
a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have
touched. ERIS DODD-RADSON’s beautiful, carefree life falls to
pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart. RYLIN
MYERS’s job on one of the highest floors sweeps her into a
world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will this new life
cost Rylin her old one? WATT BAKRADI is a tech genius with a secret:
he knows everything about everyone. But when he’s hired to spy for
an upper-floor girl, he finds himself caught up in a complicated web
of lies. And living above everyone else on the thousandth floor is
AVERY FULLER, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl
who seems to have it all—yet is tormented by the one thing she can
never have. Amid breathtaking advancement and high-tech luxury, five
teenagers struggle to find their place at the top of the world. But
when you're this high up, there's nowhere to go but down....
Sometimes our enemies
are also our only allies...After an explosion destroys his ship, the
world believes Prince Merik, Windwitch, is dead. Scarred yet alive,
Merik is determined to prove his sister’s treachery. Upon reaching
the royal capital, crowded with refugees, he haunts the streets,
fighting for the weak—which leads to whispers of a disfigured
demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed. When the
Bloodwitch Aeduan discovers a bounty on Iseult, he makes sure to be
the first to find her—yet in a surprise twist, Iseult offers him a
deal. She will return money stolen from him, if he locates Safi. Now
they must work together to cross the Witchlands, while constantly
wondering, who will betray whom first? After a surprise attack and
shipwreck, Safi and the Empress of Marstok barely escape with their
lives. Alone in a land of pirates, every moment balances on a knife’s
edge—especially when the pirates’ next move could unleash war
upon the Witchlands.
This morning, Kady
thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to
do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two
rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more
than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody
thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down
on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each
other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with
an enemy warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting
started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with
terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them,
may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s
really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the
truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light:
the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.
BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked
documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs,
medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book
in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the
price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.
Sometimes evil refuses
to die. Rowan's great-aunt Queenie is dead. After all the misery she
caused her family while she was alive, most of them are secretly
relieved. But Queenie did not want to die, and she will do anything
to live again…including possessing young Rowan. She haunts the
child's nightmares, taking her over bit by chilling bit. As her soul
is drawn inexorably into a cold darkness, can Rowan hope to reclaim
her life from the evil dead?
Book #20: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
It's been months since
Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the
Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally,
they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect.
The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the
worsening aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence,
Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way
to save them both. Threatened by false friends and powerful
temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, can their love survive through
the ever night?
I would explain myself if I could. It was cheap and I was planning on making a purchase anyway. So I grabbed it. Before anybody asks (if they are going to), I do have Under the Never Sky, I just haven't actually read it yet. You'll see two more like that later. I bought this because it was pretty and I had the first one and I could afford it. That is all.
Book #21: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Book #21: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
What if all the
crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at
once? Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a
hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone
else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy
she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her
heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real
life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her
secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes
from imaginary to out of control.
I don't know what I was thinking. I don't like YA Contemporary (even less so the slimmer YA Contemporary Romance) books. Why would I buy this? Oh yeah, because it only cost $1.89 and I qualified for free shipping. It's been super popular again lately with the release of the third installment and I sort of want to know what it's about. I've heard of it, and I've seen both male and female BookTubers from all walks of life gushing about it. I want to know what's so special about a high school girl with crushes and a clearly disrespectful sibling.
Book #22: Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
When writer Arthur
Ransome leaves his home in England and moves to Russia to work as a
journalist, it is with little idea of the violent revolution about to
erupt. Unwittingly, he finds himself at its center, tapped by the
British to report back on the Bolsheviks even as he becomes
dangerously romantically entangled with revolutionary leader
Trotsky’s personal secretary. Both sides seek to use Arthur for
their own purposes…and, as he struggles to find autonomy, both
sides grow to suspect him of being a double agent. Arthur wants only
to elope far from the conflict with his beloved. But when he attempts
to extract himself and Evgenia from the complicated politics and
politicians that he fears will lead them both to their deaths, the
decisions he faces are the most dangerous and difficult of his life.
It was cheap and pretty. What else is expected of me? I like cheap pretty things and I have a bad habit of buying books that I don't know what to do with. It looks good and I can't wait to get into it.
Book #23: A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
The last thing Jamie
Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut
prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s
not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte
Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who
has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile
temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it
seems safer to admire her from afar. From the moment they meet,
there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to
be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies
under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most
terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford
to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for
murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is
mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are
each other.
Yeah, you'll see this back in like January time frame. I bought the ebook edition while I was spending entire weekends at KS's place. I don't do that any more. Anyway, I was browsing BookOutlet and I happened to see they had the hard cover edition for relatively low price and I wanted a copy for my bookshelf. So, yeah. That's all I have to say. I bought it a second time.
Book #24: Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch
It’s been three
months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra,
disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell. Meira just wants
her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to
dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and
possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees
this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can
finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger
the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much
magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the
two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the
chasm’s secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to
keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with
Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves?
Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians
hang fresh and raw in Januari—leaving Winter vulnerable to
Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for
allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands.
Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats?
As the web of power and deception weaves tighter, Theron fights for
magic, Mather fights for freedom—and Meira starts to wonder if she
should be fighting not just for Winter, but for the world.
Another thing where I bought the second volume before reading the first. It's too pretty and I'm sure I'm going to like it, so why even bother to ignore it when it's discounted? I plan to put the first one on my list as soon as possible, pending the TBR jar spits it out. Who knows?
Book #25: The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
Every family has its
problems. But even among the most troubled, the Plumb family stands
out as spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of simmering tensions
finally reach a breaking point on an unseasonably cold afternoon in
New York City as Melody, Beatrice, and Jack Plumb gather to confront
their charismatic and reckless older brother, Leo, freshly released
from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got behind the wheel of
a car with a nineteen-year-old waitress as his passenger. The ensuing
accident has endangered the Plumbs joint trust fund, “The Nest,”
which they are months away from finally receiving. Meant by their
deceased father to be a modest mid-life supplement, the Plumb
siblings have watched The Nest’s value soar along with the stock
market and have been counting on the money to solve a number of
self-inflicted problems. Melody, a wife and mother in an upscale
suburb, has an unwieldy mortgage and looming college tuition for her
twin teenage daughters. Jack, an antiques dealer, has secretly
borrowed against the beach cottage he shares with his husband,
Walker, to keep his store open. And Bea, a once-promising short-story
writer, just can’t seem to finish her overdue novel. Can Leo rescue
his siblings and, by extension, the people they love? Or will
everyone need to reimagine the future they’ve envisioned? Brought
together as never before, Leo, Melody, Jack, and Beatrice must
grapple with old resentments, present-day truths, and the significant
emotional and financial toll of the accident, as well as finally
acknowledge the choices they have made in their own lives. This is a
story about the power of family, the possibilities of friendship, the
ways we depend upon one another and the ways we let one another down.
In this tender, entertaining, and deftly written debut, Sweeney
brings a remarkable cast of characters to life to illuminate what
money does to relationships, what happens to our ambitions over the
course of time, and the fraught yet unbreakable ties we share with
those we love.
So I was in the doctor's office with my grandma, waiting, as she has me do often when she goes to the doctor, and I was flipping through one of the magazines and saw a suggested reading section. I took a picture of this book on my phone. Then accidentally deleted it. THEN I found it on BookOutlet and bought it. Yes. It's so pretty and it's just that random weirdness that I love.
Book #26: Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley
Aza Ray is drowning in
thin air. Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious
lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to
speak—to live. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky,
her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But
Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on
the ship calling her name. Only her best friend, Jason, listens.
Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have
more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that
thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our
world—and found, by another. Magonia. Above the clouds, in a land
of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In
Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense
power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is
coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in
Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the
boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?
I don't know! It was pretty and I wanted it. And a feather. How could I say no to a feather? The synopsis makes me think partly of Treasure Planet and partly of Howl's Moving Castle. I needed to own it. So I bought it, I think for full BookOutlet price. I didn't get as many Scratch and Dent books this time. Yeah!
Book #27: The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
NEW YORK CITY AS
YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE. A thousand-story tower stretching into
the sky. A glittering vision of the future where anything is
possible—if you want it enough. WELCOME TO MANHATTAN, 2118. A
hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and
dreams. Everyone there wants something…and everyone has something
to lose. LEDA COLE’s flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to
a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have
touched. ERIS DODD-RADSON’s beautiful, carefree life falls to
pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart. RYLIN
MYERS’s job on one of the highest floors sweeps her into a
world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will this new life
cost Rylin her old one? WATT BAKRADI is a tech genius with a secret:
he knows everything about everyone. But when he’s hired to spy for
an upper-floor girl, he finds himself caught up in a complicated web
of lies. And living above everyone else on the thousandth floor is
AVERY FULLER, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl
who seems to have it all—yet is tormented by the one thing she can
never have. Amid breathtaking advancement and high-tech luxury, five
teenagers struggle to find their place at the top of the world. But
when you're this high up, there's nowhere to go but down....
Pretty. Cheap. I wanted it. I don't know. I've heard really good things on Goodreads, BookTube, and Facebook. I figured I'll give it a try and see if I like it. It looks like one of those sci-fi books that I like. Yay!
Book #28: Windwitch by Susan Dennard
Sometimes our enemies
are also our only allies...After an explosion destroys his ship, the
world believes Prince Merik, Windwitch, is dead. Scarred yet alive,
Merik is determined to prove his sister’s treachery. Upon reaching
the royal capital, crowded with refugees, he haunts the streets,
fighting for the weak—which leads to whispers of a disfigured
demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed. When the
Bloodwitch Aeduan discovers a bounty on Iseult, he makes sure to be
the first to find her—yet in a surprise twist, Iseult offers him a
deal. She will return money stolen from him, if he locates Safi. Now
they must work together to cross the Witchlands, while constantly
wondering, who will betray whom first? After a surprise attack and
shipwreck, Safi and the Empress of Marstok barely escape with their
lives. Alone in a land of pirates, every moment balances on a knife’s
edge—especially when the pirates’ next move could unleash war
upon the Witchlands.
Because I have money and I can spend it however I see fit. I know I haven't read Truthwitch yet, but I like cheap books. This series looks amazing and I'm looking forward to reading it. I hear good things and it has a high rating on Goodreads. So it must be good.
Book #29: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
This morning, Kady
thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to
do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two
rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more
than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody
thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down
on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each
other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with
an enemy warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting
started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with
terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them,
may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s
really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the
truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light:
the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.
BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked
documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs,
medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book
in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the
price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.
I think this is also somewhere in the January-April book hauls area. I bought it for the Kindle, only to find out that it was a .pdf and I couldn't adjust the font so I could read it. So instead when it popped up on BookOutlet, I picked up the hard cover edition to read. It's on my Currently Reading list and I am enjoying it so far.
Book #30: The Influence by Ramsey Campbell
Sometimes evil refuses
to die. Rowan's great-aunt Queenie is dead. After all the misery she
caused her family while she was alive, most of them are secretly
relieved. But Queenie did not want to die, and she will do anything
to live again…including possessing young Rowan. She haunts the
child's nightmares, taking her over bit by chilling bit. As her soul
is drawn inexorably into a cold darkness, can Rowan hope to reclaim
her life from the evil dead?
They put in two Free Little Libraries around the town I live it. I've been to one, but not the other. I found this when I was at the one I have been to (and I do intend to one day stop at the other) and I think it's creepy but very good so far. I like the premise and the idea behind what's going on. It's very scary.
Those, my lovelies, are all the books I've some how managed to acquire in July (I kept putting January on FB). I hope you find something you like and I'll see you next Book Haul!
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