MBiC (12) ~ Book haul time!

MBiC is a fortnightly (*ahem*) book haul feature inspired by Kristi (The Story Siren) and Alea (Pop Culture Junkie). I love looking at book covers, and especially their colours, and that is where the idea to feature my new arrivals by their spines in accordance to their shade comes from.

~~~~~

28th of April 2013 ~ Notes

It's been a month and a half since my last book haul. This is only half of the books I've gotten. In a week or two I'll share the remaining titles (they're mostly more classics that I've bought). In this one I'm sharing my review books and recent YA I've bought/preordered. Super excited for some of these!

Note: All release dates are in the format (dd/mm/yyyy); click on images to zoom in; all book links go to Goodreads.

* = Up for swap

For Review

Thanks to...

Bloomsbury Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin and Random House!

• Wildlife - Fiona Wood - 01/06/2013 - accepted
• Steal My Sunshine - Emily Gale - 01/05/2013 - requested --> review tk
• Inferno (#4) - Sherrilyn Kenyon - 09/04/2013 - unsolicited *
• The Bone Season - Samantha Shannon - 20/08/2013 - requested ARC
• The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey - 07/05/2013 - unsolicited

Excited for all these, except for Inferno, and that's because it's just not for me. Just finished reading Steal My Sunshine - at least 4 stars from me! Review will be up sometime this coming week. The 5th Wave has been generating some really good buzz from fellow bloggers/Goodreaders, so I'll be reading that really soon. (FYI: It's on Netgalley too!) I was practically begging for The Bone Season. Read the sampler here. I'm so curious about this one and I hope it doesn't just fall into the romance arc. And as for Wildlife, I love Fiona Wood's debut so I can't see how I won't also love this.

Bought

• Catching Fire & Mockingjay (#2-3) by Suzanne Collins --> series review tk
• The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann
• Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys --> my review
• Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres
• Ransomwood by Sherryl Jordan
• Crewel by Gennifer Albin
• Gone (#1) by Michael Grant

Just finished the The Hunger Games series last week. So good! I'll eventually get around to writing a wrap-up series review for it, once all my emotions have caught up with me. I read Out of the Easy at the beginning of this month. It was perfect (for me)! Check out my review, the link is above.

I preordered Gone for $5 through The Book Depository. It's the 'special' edition, mostly in that it's cheaper; there's also a sample chapter from the last book, Light. I actually got Ransomwood from Lisa (Badass Bookie) through a swap. All the other books not mentioned are from AllBooks4Less. I was VERY happy about getting Burn Bright - I now have the whole trilogy and I will get around to reading it soon. There's just so much dystopia still on my TBR!

Q: How many books do you read a month, on average?

Happy reading.

Share with me your own book hauls! :)

[Review] Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Out of the Easy 

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 07/03/2013

Publisher: Penguin (Puffin)

Pages: 352

Source: Bought

♪ Marina and the Diamonds - Power and Control ♪

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

My Rating: 

Powerful + unforgettable!

My thoughts

Following Ruta Sepetys’ debut Between Shades of Grey I was expecting something raw and powerful, a book that, once I’d finished reading the last page I’d feel like my life had been irrevocably changed for ever. It’s such a pleasure when expectations are met with reality which is the case here. Out of the Easy is extremely different to Sepetys’ debut novel, but one major similarity shines through—there is a bleak tone to the novel and yet there resonates a promise of hope.
   

"Decisions, they shape our destiny."

[Review] Prodigy by Marie Lu

Prodigy

(#2, Legend)

Legend | Prodigy | Champion

Author: Marie Lu

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 30/01/2013

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 350

Source: For review

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

My Rating: 

A surprising sequel!

My thoughts

Quite a substantial amount of time has passed since I read Legend. I did read a recap of it and while I think it did help reorient myself into Lu's imagined world, it's definitely not necessary. Sometimes it's just better to jump right on in and I think I would have been perfectly fine had I done so. Marie Lu doesn't beat you over the head with the happenings of the previous book, but rather subtly eases you back into her story. In no time at all I was reminded of all the things I adored in Legend and I was, quite simply, hooked.

MBiC (11): More classics book haul~

MBiC is a fortnightly (*ahem*) post book haul feature inspired by Kristi (The Story Siren) and Alea (Pop Culture Junkie). I love looking at book covers, and especially their colours, and that is where the idea to feature my new arrivals by their spines in accordance to their shade comes from.

~~~~~

9th of March 2013 ~ Notes

I think I overdid it with the book buying. I'm not buying any books this month, I think. But I got so many great books, I'm not sure if any of you will be as excited as I am because there's not much YA coming to my doorstep these days. (I'm waiting for a preorder, one YA title that I'm EXTREMELY excited for!) This haul is mostly red spines (*hint hint*).

Note: All release dates are in the format (dd/mm/yyyy); click on images to zoom in; all book links go to Goodreads.

* = Up for swap

For Review

Thanks to...

Bloomsbury!

• Hostage Three - Nick Lake - 01/04/2013 - unsolicited

I was also sent In Darkness by Nick Lake, which I STILL have not read. Though I really want to, eventually. This one sounds pretty interesting--and hello? Pirates! I also like the cover of this one, though I think it could have done without the girl.

Bought

So shiny... I actually colour-organised this time!

• Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
• A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
• Mr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• The Easter Parade by Richard Yates

It's partly Booktopia's fault that I bought so many books in February. Too many good deals plus the free shipping. I owe my acquisiton of Yates' novel to Lesley (WordsOfAReader ~ one of my favourite booktubers!). I want to read that one the most, but coming at a close second is Anna Karenina. Also, Chris Isherwood is classic GBLT and I like his writing style--from what I read in the online previews.

• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
• The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
• Possession by A.S. Byatt

The Pickwick Papers (Penguin English Library) & Possession (Vintage 21) have this nice velvet-y feel to the covers. (And yes, I have rubbed my face on both. *sigh*)

I finally have a copy of The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate - can you believe I first ordered it in October last year? I already know I'm going to love Nancy Mitford's style.  I can't wait to eventually familiarise myself with the lives of the famed Mitfords. Also, Possession is one of those books about books; it sounds sort of The Book Thief-ish or Dash & Lily's Book of Dares-ish. And Life of Pi and The Handmaid's Tale - yay!

Task:
 Have a look at the Goodreads page for every single one of these books
and let me know if there are any new ones that caught your attention.

Happy reading! Comment below.

Share with me your own book hauls! :)

[Review] The FitzOsbornes in Exile by Michelle Cooper

The FitzOsbornes in Exile

(#2, The Montmaray Journals)
A Brief History of Montmaray | The FitzOsbornes in Exile | The FitzOsbornes at War

Author: Michelle Cooper

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 02/08/2012

Publisher: Random House

Pages: 450

Source: For review (thanks Michelle!)

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

My Rating: 

My thoughts

Note: This is the second book in the trilogy. I would definitely recommend you read the first book before you read this review.

The FitzOsbornes in Exile is an inspired follow-up to A Brief History of Montmaray. The FitzOsbornes now have to deal with court life in England--especially the girls, Sophie and Veronica, as they make their debut into Society--all the while planning to take back their home and establish their nation in their royal status. Cooper's characters develop realistically and with great charm, in all their quirks. The plot thickens in all its historically detailed glory, paving the way for an intense and dramatic conclusion to the trilogy.