by Kay | May 4, 2014 | Shelf Absorbed |
Whenever I have a favourites post come round, I feel like breaking into song. Doesn’t the title do that to you? Don’t you hear Julie Andrews singing her heart out to small Austrian children? *cues soundtrack* Anyhow, on to my favourites of April!
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Ms. Armentrout came out of nowhere this month. I know plenty of people have been fans of hers for years, but I’m really late to get on the boat. But then I was sent White Hot Kiss (unsolicited) for review and fell in LOVE. First off – although I will get to this in my review of the book – I find the cover a bit misleading. It looks SUPER romantic, and it really isn’t. It is much more of a urban fantasy novel veering into young adult UF. Which, c’mon, exactly describes my favourite genre!
Anyhow, the book was TOTALLY addictive and had the sequel been out, I would have read it off the bat. Seriously. It was fab. Jennifer Armentrout is going onto my list of must-read-more-of-NOW authors!
Game of Thrones
Oh, C’MON! Of course this is making the list!! Game of Thrones has been turning it out this season – as usual! No really… has there ever been a bad episode of this show? Hmmm? I didn’t think so. I have been loving Tyrion and Sansa together. Not romantically, but there is something about their relationship that makes me want to see them on the screen together ALL THE TIME. Oh, and the Martells! Anyone else in love with them? Really hope we get to see Dorne sometime…
And that’s all I can say without epic spoilers. 🙂 Oh, and if you may die before Sunday without a fix, watch the AMAZING vid I’ve embedded above. For those of you who may have issues with the rampant sexism in the books/show (I am one of them), you will adore it. (Although warning for S3 spoilers and GoT nudity/violence/death.)
Not to toot my own horn, but my revamped Must Reads page is GORGEOUS. Since switching to my new layout, I’ve been really playing about with different page styles and I REALLY like what I’ve come up with. Go check out the page for some good book recommendations and some shiny effects. 😉
Coming up…!
I’ve got a few special posts coming up on the blog because…. I’m heading back to BEA! I absolutely cannot wait to go back and am looking forward to seeing so many of the people I met last year! Anyhow, the posts you’ll spot will be some BEA tips & tricks for first timers (hopefully some new stuff you won’t have seen) as well as some to-look-for authors and books. Keep a look out. 😀
by Kay | Apr 11, 2014 | Monthly TBR, Shelf Absorbed |
I am not always the best at posting my TBR piles – I always end up posting them late, or including books I’ve already read… whatever. That being said, I really enjoy putting them together! They give my month a bit of direction and help me avoid the OMG-what-to-read-next panic. So this month I am trying something new: a two-month TBR! Since my books usually run into each other anyway, I might as well embrace it!
Add in my Kindle TBR – which includes Poison Dance by Livia Blackburne and  White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout – and you’ll notice that most of these books are for review! While I love my review books, I have to make sure to include some non-review books into the pile in order to keep my sanity… hence the Patricia Briggs! She is my bookish life saver… 🙂
by Kay | Apr 3, 2014 | Shelf Absorbed |
To my everlasting disappointment, February and March were mild months with no snow and – tragically! – no excuses to stay home snuggled up with a book and tea! That said, there were still a few things that deserve highlighting – most especially, the conclusion to one of my all time favourite trilogies. 🙂
Horde by Ann Aguirre
This was, alas, my only real standout novel of February/March. Not that I haven’t been reading some great books, but nothing quite as stellar! It was a fantastic, ingenious conclusion to one of my all-time favourite trilogies by an all-time favourite author. Highly, highly recommend the Razorland series if you haven’t read it!
My new layout!
In case you haven’t been on the site itself in a while, I’ve got a whole new look going on! It took me forever to develop something I was completely happy with, but now I can’t imagine going back to some of my older styles. There are still a few tweaks to come – but come on over and take a look!
India
I spent 10 days in India and fell absolutely head-over-heels. This isn’t a travel blog, but two days into my trip I was tempted to make it one. It was such a stunningly beautiful country, with a radically different culture – but one I immediately connected to. I saw such a diverse amount of wildlife and met some of the most unique people. I absolutely cannot wait to return.
That’s all for now – hopefully April will be filled with more bookish goodness! I mean, a new Laini Taylor book? Divergent movie release? It is going to be stellar. 🙂
by Kay | Feb 6, 2014 | Shelf Absorbed |
Who else is NOT a fan of the first month of the year? I think it is the fall after the Christmas high that really makes January one of those months where nothing at all good can possibly happen. Book-wise, for me, that January fit the same pattern of horrendousness. I read nothing good and the few books I managed to get through took forever.
So: there are no bookish favourites this month. But there were others!
The Veronica Mars Trailer (!!!)
OMG THIS MOVIE. Just… wow. I absolutely adored the trailer. I don’t know what I was expecting from the Veronica Mars movie, but this was not it. This? This is so, so much better.
Pinterest
It’s not that I am late to board the Pinterest bandwagon… its more like I’ve been actively avoiding it every time it comes around. I am a Tumblr girl and proud. But, when it comes to finding newly released book covers, Pinterest is pretty fantastic. I still prefer goodreads for my bookish lists and tumblr will always be my go-to social platform, but Pinterest has let me discover some pretties that I might otherwise have missed! I’m follow-able on darlingbooks.
Though all its home decor crap still freaks me out.
Psych (in its last season *cries*)
If you haven’t been watching Psych these past eight years, you’ve been missing out on an AMAZING show. It’s funny, fun and just ludicrously entertaining. And its eighth season – which, it turns out, is its last (NOOOOOOOOO) – has been fantabulous. It is one of those rare shows that has just improved with time… and I don’t know what I am going to do without it. I’ve been watching it since the very first episode and I honestly thought it would go on forever.
*sniffles*
Well, that was a depressing way to end the month. In other complaints: I also miss the snow. So, February, please provide:
a) Some amazing reads
b) A “psych!” from USA regarding Psych
c) Snow
OK? Cheers.
by Kay | Jan 6, 2014 | Monthly TBR, Shelf Absorbed |
Well, after two months of insanely large TBRs (which, alas, did not get me through my 2013 goodreads challenge) I am toning it down for January/February. These are books I’m reading purely for pleasure and – of course – that fit into my new 2014 challenges!
- Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott – I love starting the year with a Scott book. Cannot wait to get to this one!
- Goblin Secrets by William Alexander – This one is for my Monthly Key Words Challenge.
- Horde by Ann Aguirre – Had planned to read this finale in December, but figured saving it until January would get me a step closer in my Series Challenge!
- Shadows by Paula Weston – To be honest, I wasn’t that enthused about this title when I picked it up at BEA. But seeing it on Jenny’s (Wondrous Reads) Best of 2013 list has me intrigued!
- Antigoddess by Kendare Blake – Can you believe this will be my first Blake novel? Me neither!
I also plan on tackling a few of my Kindle titles and a few hardbacks I have in, er, another country. Namely:
- Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell – I was to finish this already!
- Endurance by Ann Aguirre
- Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter – I am in SUCH a Gallagher mood right now. I need MOAR.
This month I am also planning to start something a wee bit crazy… I am going to sort my books according to colour on Pinterest! I just really, really want to see what my titles will look like and – since they are spread across three countries – I will never be able to do this in real life. Should be awesome and time consuming!
by Kay | Dec 3, 2013 | Monthly TBR, Shelf Absorbed |
Last month, I committed to completing by goodreads challenge before the end of  the year. This meant reading a staggering 28 books before the year’s end – a number which I have since cut down to 18. Not bad for a single month, right? Still, it means I’ve got to get through 18 books this month! Gah!
- Bite Club by Rachel Caine – This is a carry-over from my November TBR. I’m almost finished with it and am happy to report I liked it!
- Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
- The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett
- Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott – This is out in January so I FINALLY have an excuse to read it! Have wanted to since picking it up at BEA, but other books seemed more important… sigh.
- The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason – This one is about a female Stoker and Holmes: LOVE the concept!
- The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
- Endgame by Ann Aguirre – As God is my witness, I will not go one more year without reading this book!
- Succubus Heat by Richelle Mead – This is another carry-over from last month’s TBR… I really need to finish this series before I forget everything!
- Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston – Yup, I’m one of the weirdos who hasn’t read this series. No idea what happened there….
- Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins – As above :0
- Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell – I’ll admit, I’m kinda choosing this one because of the length. Hopefully 192 pages won’t take me too long to get through!
- I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter  – Having already ready Ally’s Heist Society series, I KNOW I am going to love this one!
- Horde by Ann Aguirre – The last in the trilogy. *sniffles*
The ebooks
- Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan – This one is part of my Christmas Books challenge. It is supposed to be the perfect Christmas read!
- Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas – This one is also for my Xmas challenge 🙂
Yup, I DO realise the total here is only 15. I still need to pick out 3 more books… I am thinking maybe something else Christmassy? Let me know if you have any recs!
