Stacking The Shelves / Showcase Sunday #51

Showcase Sunday is hosted by Vicky @Books, Biscuits, and Tea and Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and they both give bloggers the opportunity to share the books they have received in the past week.

 

It has been MONTHS since I last did a stacking the shelves post but I miss sharing what books I have got and receiving your suggestions on what I should read first. I am not going to share all of the books I have got over the past few months or we would be here forever so I am just going to go with the last 2 weeks. As usual if you click on the book cover you will be taken to the books Amazon page (or goodreads if it isn't yet on amazon).

For Review

Paperbacks

I am so excited about all of these books, most notably The Memory Keepers by Natasha Ngan. I loved Natasha's debut novel The Elites last year and she is also a lovely person so I am very much looking forwards to reading this one. I am also very happy to have a paperback of Heir Of Fire (though I have actually already read it in ebook) and Firelight was unexpected but sounds great. I am also so excited to read This Book Is Gay by the uber funny James Dawson, Chained By Night by Larissa Ione which is the sequel to a book I loved last year and Red Rising which I keep hearing great things about.

Thank you to Hot Key Books, Bloomsbury, Hodder & Stoughton, Piatkus Entice and Pocket Books.
 

 

 

Ebooks

I have already read The Innocent Assassins and that was pretty fantastic. I am also really looking forwards to Dire which I have JUST received.

Thank you to Pema Donya and Alyssa Rose Ivy for these ebooks.

 

Dire

NetGalley & Edelwiess

I saw Red Queen as someone's WOW last week and it sounded so good I had to try and read it immediately. Luckily it was on Edelweiss! I also downloaded Unborn, Divinity, Yours To Uncover and Dark Sacrifice (all from NetGalley). Dark Sacrifice I have already read and it was such a fantastic and unique NA novel!

 

 

Bought

Paperback

The other week I did something I have not done in a very long time, bought a book in a bookshop that I had never heard of before. I'm really looking forwards to reading this with pretty much no expectations caused by reviews, people talking about the book etc.
 

 

Ebooks

I bought three ebooks and have read them all. Debt Inheritance I was NOT impressed with (you can read my review here) but I loved both Oath Bound and Trust. Oath Bound is an Urban Fantasy novel - a genre I am completely into at the moment.

 

 

Freebies

So many freebies! These all look great and I think most if not all are still free. I was very excited about River's Remorse as it is a sequel and I went specifically on amazon to see if it had been released yet only to find that not only it had but it was also free!

 

 

So what do you think? Have you read or want to read any of these books? Feel free to link to your own Stacking The Shelves or similar post in the comments.

Review of Uncovered

Synopsis

My name is Lizzie Connelly, and I have it all. The gorgeous apartment. The new job most women would rip out their own souls for—working for Margaret Emerson at Emerson & Taylor. I have one of those lives you’ve always dreamt about, the kind you only see on HBO. But, the thing is, that life is a lie. A façade.

It all started with one call. “Everything you know about your story—your father’s story—is a lie. It’s up to you to uncover everything.” One call, and I turned my world upside down to dig my way into Margaret’s life—the woman who I’d never laid eyes on until recently. My stepmother who took everything after my father died fourteen years ago.

The plan was simple—figure out what role she played in my father’s death and expose her to the world.

But here’s another thing: simplicity doesn’t exist, and my plans are flawed from the beginning because I never anticipated Oliver. Sexy, too smart for his own goddamn good, and infuriating, he’s the one person who could blow my plans to uncover Margaret. She’s his mother, and in another life, that would have made him my stepbrother.

I want to pretend that none of that matters, that I can simply finish what I came to do without sparing him a second glance and another thought.

Like I said, though, there’s no such thing as simplicity.

My real name is Gemma Emerson.

And this is my story.

Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK

Review

I really enjoyed this book.  The mystery progressed nicely with a teaser in the beginning and little clues throughout the book.  The romance was what I would expect from the author, which is intense.  It had a lot of the elements I’ve seen in this genre such as an escort, a playboy, and a wicked witch (or two) but it was woven in a way that really worked.  One of the things I enjoyed was that the playboy didn’t transform overnight.  He simply grew more and more attached as he waited for the opportunity to consummate their affair and by the time he did, he wasn’t quite willing to call an end to things.  I also totally loved the best friend/partner in crime.  I have a real soft spot for resourceful women.

One of the things that didn’t quite work for me was that while the character’s action felt logical, I didn’t feel a strong connection to them.  I mean, I couldn’t quite understand how the heroine ever got involved in the career path she had chosen as that part of her life was glossed over.  I was also kind of surprised by the apparent lack of conflict for the son.  Again, there was enough of a foundation that I could understand his decisions but I felt like there should have been more of a struggle early on considering the fact that, while he disliked his mother, he didn’t hate her.  Lastly, I wanted more from the ending.  It was a happily ever after but I found myself full of questions wondering where things would go from there on the business front.  It was probably a good call to end things the way they were rather than gloss over what would have to be a complicated mess but I prefer an ending with at least a direction for each of the major elements of the heroine’s life.

While there are clearly some areas I would have preferred more elaboration, I enjoyed the story.  The mystery, and betrayals, felt unique, there was plenty of steam, and there were characters that I really liked.  I’m looking forward to the next book, which is a companion book, and will follow the best friend.  There is a lot of potential there and I am looking forward to reading it.

Try it for yourself! Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon UK

Katie

Cover Reveal (and giveaway) - Captured Love

Today I am helping to reveal the cover for Captured Love by Juliana Haygert. This cover is lovely and the book sounds great so I am really looking forwards to it.

Synopsis

It’s been four years since twenty-year-old Jessica Hayes has been home, but when she discovers her father is dying, she must return to her hometown in South Carolina and face her past. Jessica thought patching up her relationship with her father would be her biggest challenge, but when she runs into Ryan Dawson—the catalyst of all her problems—she wonders if coming home was a mistake.

Ryan knows he screwed up. Hell, he paid the price…with interest. But when he runs into his best friend’s little sister, Jessica, he’s reminded that his debt will never truly be paid. He may have turned his life around, but he can’t undo the damage. So, he does what he should have done all those years ago. He stays away from Jessica, and all the other personal demons that still haunt him.

Jessica thought she wanted nothing to with Ryan, but something is different about him and she needs to know why. When she discovers the truth behind his change, she puts her troubles aside and tries to help him. But is putting her heart back in the line of fire worth disrupting her stable life back in Ohio, or will the past repeat itself, leaving her broken-hearted once again?

Goodreads

About The Author

While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.
 

Author Links:

http://www.julianahaygert.com/

www.goodreads.com/user/show/4952544-juliana

https://www.facebook.com/juhaygert

https://twitter.com/Juliana_Haygert 

 

Giveaway

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting On Wednesday - The Fire Prince

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it allows readers to share the books that they are most looking forwards to reading.

This week the book I have chosen to feature is The Fire Prince by Emily Gee.

Title: The Fire Prince

Author: Emily Gee

Series: The Cursed Kingdoms trilogy #2

Publisher: Solaris

Publication date: 11th September (UK), August 26th (US)

Links: Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon UK


Synopsis

The long awaited and much anticipated sequel to 2011's The Sentinel Mage. The Fire Prince continues the saga of Prince Harkeld, Innis the shapeshifter and the imperiled Seven Kingdoms.

The Seven Kingdoms are in the grip of an ancient and terrible blood curse. Thousands have died. Thousands more will die. Only one man can end the curse.

The fugitive Osgaardan prince, Harkeld, is that man—whether he likes it or not. But the bounty on Harkeld’s head is high. He has outrun his father’s soldiers, but he can’t outrun the assassins who seek him—Fithians, trained in the art of killing. Even the Sentinel mages who guide and guard him are no match for Fithian steel. Faced with the ever-present threat of death, Harkeld must learn to use his fire magic. Or die.

Meanwhile, dark plots are unfolding in Osgaard’s gold-tiled palace, snaring Princess Brigitta and those she loves. And in the eastern kingdoms, young orphan Jaumé journeys with a band of mysterious and dangerous fighters, heading north for a purpose he does not understand.

My Thoughts

I have been waiting for this book for over 3 years! I first read The Sentinel Mage back when it first released and loved every single aspect of it. It is an incredible epic fantasy series that just ticks every single box (in fact most of the characters are in their early 20s so you could even kind of call this NA :P). I have been looking forwards for a long time to find out what will happen next to all the characters and I'm so glad I don't have to wait much longer!

What are you waiting for this week?